Quest for Power Series 4: Musa's Adventure
by hansbmd
Summary: Musa sees the future and finds out that she's next in line for danger. Riven promises to protect her, but the next day she sees him with another girl. In her heartbroken and confused state, she is kidnapped and turned into a witch! MusaxRiven pairing
1. Shadows of the Future

Hey everyone, I'm baaaaaaaaack! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted the next story, but I had a couple others to work on, and I have all my schoolwork. But I got a review on the last story in the Quest for Power Series asking me when I was going to post the next story, and it prompted me to get it ready.

All right, we're ready for the next story, and I know you're tired of hearing it, but if you haven't read the previous three stories, READ THEM!!!! Trust me, you won't keep up with this story if you haven't read the others, particularly since it has Guinevere and Nirvana in it. All the remaining fics will as well. I hope you enjoy this first chapter and again, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you guys. Happy reading!

**Chapter 1: Shadows of the Future**

"Now what do we do?" asked Musa as she lied down on her bed. Even though it had been a day since the girls had gotten back from the Realm of Angelicas, she was still exhausted and understandably so, because of what she and the girls had just been through. Being trapped in the dungeons, barred from transforming and fighting Paritho had really worn her out and the others out.

"What do you mean Musa?" asked Tecna, who was the most tired of them all. After all, she was the one who had almost married the creep behind their latest mission. She was still recovering from the fact that she'd actually _kissed_ him. "That was incredibly disgusting," she said silently.

Musa responded with, "Well we just got done with our latest adventure on Angelicas and now are we supposed to just wait for the next one? I mean, isn't there someway we can find out who's next for all this danger?"

She was, of course, referring to the villains who had been and were still trying to obtain their powers. Each of the realms these girls came from had a supreme power source that only the princess could control, and each member of the Winx Club was just beginning to gain hers.

They had so far defeated Icy, Darcy and Stormy, who had kidnapped them all and stolen their powers, but were defeated very soon afterward. Those three, however, were like bad pennies, they always turned up. They had then met Guinevere, the Princess of Rampara and Flora's cousin, who had spent the majority of her life under a curse and had needed someone, namely Flora, to break it. In doing so and in purging both their realms from darkness, they had gained the ultimate power of their lands.

After that, a man named Paritho kidnapped Tecna and took her back to Zenith so that she could release the power of her realm, and then marry her. He'd taken her back to Angelicas for the wedding and when the others went to rescue her, they met Nirvana, the real princess, and after defeating him, she got her full power as well.

"I doubt there's anything we can do," said Bloom. "I guess we just have to wait."

"Maybe Ms. F. knows something we can do," said Musa.

"Musa, I don't think we should bother Ms. Faragonda unless it's urgent," said Guinevere. "I say we relax while we can."

"I think Guinevere's right," said Flora. "Let's go out and do some shopping."

"I don't really want to go shopping," said Layla. "We don't really need anything."

"What we do need is some fun and relaxation," said Stella. "And I think shopping will give us just that. I say we go."

"Yeah, you're right," said Bloom. "Let's go."

They all went outside the school and managed to catch the bus going into Magix. They chatted aimlessly for several minutes, just glad to have each other's company.

"When you do you think Nirvana will come and join us?" asked Layla.

"Probably in a few days," said Tecna. "She has to make sure that her people are safe. I mean, that's a princess's duty, isn't it?"

"So now you're interested in being a princess," teased Stella. Princess-related things had never been a popular topic with Tecna.

"I have to get interested now, considering I just found out I am one," she replied.

"That must have been a real shock," said Flora.

"It was. I thought I knew who I was and where I belonged, but now, it's like I have to find myself all over again. It's just so strange."

"I know exactly what you're going through," said Bloom. "I found out I was the last remaining member of the Kingdom of Sparx from Icy, Darcy and Stormy, remember that?"

"Yeah, and then we had to go through them and the Army of Decay," said Stella, still cringing at the thought of those creatures that had attacked the school, and how they had almost completely ruined her outfit.

"It sounds like you guys have had quite the adventures these last couple years," remarked Guinevere.

"We have," said Layla. "Do you want to hear about them over dinner later?"

"Heck yes, but don't you think we should save story time until Nirvana is able to join us? She'll probably want to hear about all this as well."

"That's a good idea," said Musa. "I'm not gonna want to explain it all again."

"Yeah, that'd just be…" began Stella, but she was cut off. They'd just gotten off the bus at the mall, and when she saw what was in one of the front windows, she ran towards the entrance with a delighted grin on her face.

"It's the latest design by Spella McCartney," she said. "And it's on sale!"

By the time the others reached that particular store, Stella already had about twenty different outfits to try on, and was grabbing more and more off the racks each second. It took a ton of persuasion from the girls for her not to buy the whole store. Finally, she settled on ten new dresses, as opposed to all 25 she had wanted.

When the girls got back to Alfea, it was starting to get dark out and they had just enough time to drop their purchases off in their rooms before going down to eat dinner with the rest of the school. They all went to bed fairly early that night, each one tired from shopping and from their day on Angelicas the previous day.

Musa, however, was the only one who couldn't sleep. She laid in bed, tossing and turning for several hours into the night. Finally around midnight, she couldn't take anymore. She silently got dressed and walked towards the door to the room she shared with Tecna. She stopped a few times when she thought her friend was going to wake up, but managed to make it to the door to Bloom and Flora's room without making any noise. Thankfully, Bloom and Flora had the door out to the hallway, so she was able to slip out into the corridor and shut the door softly behind her.

"I hope Griselda doesn't catch me," she thought to herself.

She made her way silently through the halls of Alfea, looking over her shoulder every few seconds to see if she was being followed. Every time she saw a shadow or heard a small noise, she tensed up in fear, but it was only an owl passing by the window, or one of the pixie pets looking for a midnight snack.

"These missions are starting to get to me," she said out loud. "Thankfully Ms. F's office is only another hall down."

"Miss Musa!" barked a sharp voice.

Musa jumped nearly a foot in the air as she heard the voice crack like a whip through the still, quiet atmosphere of the nighttime school. She spun around to see who it was, her hand over her heart, then felt both relief and anxiety wash over her as she saw Griselda standing there, looking as grouch and surly as she normally did. Musa gulped; she was in for it now.

"Hi Ms. G," she said. "I was just uh…"

"Just sneaking out to see one of those Red Fountain boys I expect."

"No, no, that's not it," said Musa quickly. "I was just going to see…"

"She was coming to see me," said another voice. Musa turned around and breathed a sigh of relief to see Ms. Faragonda coming towards them, a kind smile on her face. "You were on your way to see me, weren't you Musa?"

"Yeah I was," replied Musa, gratitude washing over her like the waves.

"That'll be all Griselda, you can go back to your rounds now," said the headmistress.

"But…" began the Mistress of Discipline, but she was cut off.

"I said that will be all," and she gave her a look that said the conversation was over.

"All right then," said Griselda, but both could tell she wasn't happy about letting Musa go unpunished.

"Thanks for that Ms. F," said Musa, as the two entered the headmistress's office.

"It's perfectly all right my dear. It's obvious that you need someone to talk to."

"Is that why you're still awake? Did you know I was coming?"

"Yes I did. I didn't think it would take you this long to come to me though."

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Musa sheepishly.

"Now Musa, what's on your mind?" asked Ms. Faragonda. "I can tell there's something bothering you. What is it?"

"I'm just wondering if there's any way we can find out which of us is next to potentially get her powers stolen," said Musa. "I want to be ready to go when the danger starts again."

"I'm glad you want to be prepared for what's coming. Yes, there is a way," said Ms.

Faragonda. "Let me show you something my dear."

She walked to her bookshelf, took some books off one of the shelves and opened a secret compartment in the back. Inside it was a small hand mirror, with intricate gold work around the handle and the rim. Ms. Faragonda took the mirror out of the compartment and handed it to Musa.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" asked the fairy of music.

"This mirror will show you anything you want to know. There are many others like it, all in different shapes and sizes, at least one in every realm. There is one somewhere in your realm I believe. Just concentrate and it will show you anything, past, present and future. Give it a try."

Musa thought about how she wanted to know which one of her friends would be next and gasped at what she saw. She saw herself tied up in a cave, several dark rings revolving around her and a man standing in front of her, telling her lies about her friends. Icy, Darcy and Stormy were standing behind him, laughing maliciously. Finally, the dark rings stopped and the ropes came off, but what she saw wasn't her. It was a girl that looked like her, except she was dressed all in black. She was a witch!

Musa let out a strangled cry and dropped the mirror as if it was something that could harm her at any given moment. Ms. Faragonda held out her hand and a bubble formed around the mirror, preventing it from hitting the ground. She guided it back to the bookshelf and placed it gently back into its compartment.

"What is it Musa? What did you see?" asked Ms. Faragonda.

"I'm the one," said Musa. "I'm next."

She sank further back onto her chair, trying to keep herself from fainting. "I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to faint, I'm not going to be sick," she kept telling herself, but the more the thought of this future, the more afraid and disgusted she became.

"Drink this, it'll help," said Ms. Faragonda, pouring her a cup of hot tea. She took a sip and instantly felt a little better, but still afraid.

"What am I going to do Ms. F?"

"The best thing for you now is to stay with your friends and to not go anywhere by yourself. Tell the girls what happened and then tell the boys. I'm sure they'll all be willing to protect you."

Musa just nodded, not really taking in her words.

"Why don't you go get some rest my dear?" asked Ms. Faragonda. "I'll take you back to your room if you'd like." Musa just nodded. They walked back to the Winx girls' rooms in silence and when they got there, Musa just nodded good night and went back to bed.

She spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, not able to get any sleep. As she stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifted to Riven. She knew he'd protect her, but what she wanted to know was if he'd protect her because he had feelings for her. She couldn't help but think he'd only do it because it was his job.

"I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't love me," she thought. "I didn't realize how I really felt about him until we went to ShadowHaunt to rescue Bloom, and he showed some signs that he loved me then. But since then, he's barely shown any sign of affection. I just hope that he…"

She was cut off when she heard a sound coming from her window. Someone was throwing pebbles against it. She got up and went over to see who it was, and smiled to see Riven down there. He waved to her and gestured for her to come down and see him. She opened the window and used her wings to drift softly to the ground next to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Couldn't sleep," he answered. "Something told me you couldn't either, so I decided to see what was up." He looked at her face and saw that he was right. "Is there something going on I should know about?"

"Before I tell you, I have to ask you, are you the real Riven or are you after my powers?" she asked, backing away from slightly.

He looked shocked and confused at her answer. "Musa, I don't even have magic, why would I be after your powers?"

"What did you say to me when we went into ShadowHaunt?" she persisted.

Riven looked a little nervous, but replied, "I told you I didn't know what I'd do without you, and asked you to promise to come back to me."

Musa breathed a sigh of relief and said, "okay, it's the real you."

"What's going on?" he asked, crossing his arms and looking a little angry. "What's with the interrogation?"

She sighed and told him everything that she had seen in the mirror. When she was finished, she looked up at him and said, "I'm scared. I'm so scared Riven."

"Don't worry," he said, hugging her. "You'll be fine. I promise I'll protect you."

"I don't really see what you can do," she said. "If it's going to happen, trying to protect me won't do much good."

"I don't care," he said. "I'll protect you no matter what."

"Thank you," she said, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. He stuttered at that, which made her smile a little bit. He watched as she flew back up to her room and closed the window. He started back for Red Fountain, not able to deny that he was worried about her. He'd never worried about anyone before, it felt so strange.

"Don't worry Musa," he said. "I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise."

**Author's Note:** Okay, so Musa knows she's next and she has Riven's word that he'll protect her, but you can probably guess that he won't do a good job of protecting her. Wait until you see how the bad guy here goes about kidnapping her. Now in the next chapter, Musa will tell the girls what happened, get a huge surprise, and I haven't decided if the next chapter's the one where she's going to sing, but it will be one of the next two. I hope you guys like Kelly Clarkson, because this fic is going to feature TWO of her songs! I'm not going to tell which ones though, that would kind of give the plot away. Stay tuned!


	2. Behind these Hazel Eyes

Hey everyone. Okay, we're back with the next chapter, and like I said at the end of the last one, this fic does have Musa singing a couple of Kelly Clarkson songs, the first of which as you can tell by the title is "Behind these Hazel Eyes." I know Musa doesn't have hazel eyes, but work with me here, the song fit the circumstances. So if you know what the song is about already, you probably can guess what's going to happen. Besides, it just wouldn't be a story about Musa if it didn't have her singing a couple times. The next one though won't be until the very end of the story. Happy reading!

**Chapter 2: Behind these Hazel Eyes**

When Musa got up that morning, she found the other girls crowded around her bed, obviously waiting for her to awake so they could all have a talk. Each had her arms crossed or her hands on her hips, making her a little nervous, but all the same she sat up and said, "hey guys, what's up?"

"Where were you last night?" asked Bloom.

"I was right here," lied Musa, but she knew none of the others would buy that.

Sure enough, Guinevere replied with, "Please, I can spot a lie a mile away."

"I heard you sneak out," said Tecna. "And then later, you climbed out the window and I clearly saw you with Riven. What's going on?"

Musa sighed and told them what had happened the previous night, her conversation with Ms. Faragonda, what she had seen, and what Riven had said to her. When she finished, the girls all realized that she had every right to be scared.

"Seriously, are we ever going to have just a quiet year at Alfea?" asked Stella, making all the others glare at her.

"Stella, right now isn't exactly the time to be asking questions you already know the answer to," said Layla. "Besides, Musa needs us."

"Okay, okay, don't bite my head off," said Stella. The girls just rolled their eyes; all had learned to accept Stella's antics long ago and to not argue with her about it.

"Don't worry Musa, we're not going to let anything happen to you," said Flora, switching the topic of the conversation back over to the business at hand. "There's no safer place than Alfea."

"Right," said Guinevere. "And when Nirvana gets here, you'll just be protected even more."

"Thanks you guys, you're the best!" said Musa, and they all joined in a group hug.

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That morning was so bright and sunny that Musa and Layla decided to go for a jog in the park.

"Is that the fastest you can go without magic Musa?" asked Layla.

"Not even close," said Musa. "Race you to the other side of the lake. Last one there has to do the other's homework for a week."

"You're on!" yelled Layla. The two girls ran as fast as they could, both wanting to get out of homework for the week, but Layla ended up as the winner. She jumped up and down, cheering, basking in her freedom for the next week.

"No fair Layla," said Musa, doubled up trying to catch her breath. "You're more in shape than I am."

"You should have thought of that before you suggested this race," said Layla. "Now you have to do all my homework for the next week. I'll be able to go boarding in Magix every night. This is going to be great!"

Musa was about to respond when she saw something that almost made her heart stop. Riven was standing a few meters away, totally wrapped up in another girl. It was as though he'd completely forgotten he already had a girlfriend. Poor Musa could feel her heart breaking inside her chest. It was bad enough that he'd broken her heart by going out with Darcy, did he have to humiliate her all over again with a complete stranger?

"Musa, what is it?" asked Layla, turning her head to look in the same direction. When she saw them, she was as shocked as Musa was, but also very angry. She began trembling on the spot with anger, ready to go over and punch his lights out.

"I don't believe this," said the water fairy outraged. "When I get my hands on him, he'll be begging for mercy, crawling on his knees asking for your forgiveness."

"No Layla, don't do anything," said Musa, tears streaming down her face. "Let's just get out of here before they see us."

"But Musa…" began Layla.

"Don't argue with me Layla, let's just get out of here please," said Musa, and the two girls ran back to Alfea to tell the others what they had seen. Tears spilled down Musa's face and all she could think about was putting as much distance between her and that backstabbing, miserable excuse for a hero as she could.

Meanwhile, Riven was enjoying himself with this girl, but he wondered who she was and why she was keeping him from Musa. He could tell something was wrong with her, but he couldn't think of what it was. But that was made clear when she gave an evil laugh, shoved herself away from him and turned into Darcy.

"Darcy, I can't believe it, you spelled me again!" said Riven angrily.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I wouldn't take you back if my life depended on it," said Darcy, grinning evilly. "What matters is that Musa has seen the two of us together and her poor little heart has broken into a thousand pieces. Good luck trying to get her back pal."

She disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Riven stunned for a moment. He got up and ran back to Alfea, thinking to himself, "I have to find Musa. I have to tell her she's got the wrong idea."

But by the time he got there, Musa and Layla had already told the other girls what they'd seen and they wouldn't let him in to see Musa. He tried to get in, but the girls used their magic to push him back. Inside their rooms, he could hear Musa crying; he wanted to go inside, take her in his arms and tell her everything was just a spell meant to break them up. He wanted to do it, but with the girls standing there, it was impossible to get through the door, let alone go inside, sit down and comfort her until she stopped crying.

"Honestly Riven, don't you think you've done enough damage?" Bloom snapped at him.

"Bloom, it's not what you think," he began but Stella cut him off.

"I knew it! I knew it! She should have dumped you months ago. She should have gone out with Jared, or if not him, at least with someone who really does appreciate her!"

"I do appreciate her!" said Riven indignantly.

"If you loved her, you wouldn't have been so absorbed in that other girl," said Layla. "We both saw you. You were acting like Musa didn't even exist and this girl was the most important thing in your life. That was really hypocritical of you Riven, considering you promised to protect her just last night. How could you do this?"

"If you'll just let me explain," he began.

"There's no need to explain anything," said Tecna. "Musa told us the whole story and that's all we need to know. It's 100% clear you don't reciprocate her feelings."

"Riven, if you haven't gotten the message by now, we're telling you to go away," said Guinevere. "Musa doesn't want to talk to you and we won't let you see her, so get lost!"

"Flora, tell them, I would never hurt Musa like that," said Riven, pleading with her.

"I'm sorry Riven," she said. "But I have to side with the girls on this one." So Riven went back to Red Fountain, wondering if there was anyway he could get Musa back.

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When Riven got back to Red Fountain, the first thing that happened was Jason bombarding him with questions, while the rest of the boys gave him really angry looks.

"Riven, what the heck is going on? Did you really dump Musa? Were you with another girl in the park? Why did you do that? I couldn't believe it, is it really true?"

"Jason, cool it!" said Riven. "Of course it isn't true! I tried to explain everything but the girls wouldn't let me see Musa. Listen, I was walking in the park, I saw this girl and I was immediately under a spell. You guys have to believe me, she bewitched me!"

"That's what they all say," said Sky.

"He has a point," said Helia.

"It's true," he said. "I was totally under a spell; I didn't even know Musa and Layla were watching me. Then the girl turned into Darcy, the spell broke as soon as she did. She said she did that just so she could hurt Musa."

"She and the other witches have never tried that tactic before," said Brandon. "I wonder what made them think of that."

"We'll figure it out later, right now you guys have to help me convince the girls to let me see Musa and tell her what's going on."

"Listen Riven," said Timmy. "There's a singing contest tonight in the park tonight, and Musa's in it. Tecna told me about it over the phone last night. Anyway, if you can catch Musa after the concert, you might be able to get her to listen to you."

"Good idea Timmy, thanks," said Riven.

That night, the boys met their girlfriends at the park to cheer Musa on. Sky, Brandon, Helia, Jason and Timmy all kissed their girlfriends. But then the girls noticed Riven was there.

"What are you doing here Riven?" asked Guinevere.

"I'm gonna talk to Musa after the contest," said Riven. "And you can't stop me."

"She doesn't want to talk to you," said Bloom. "She doesn't even want to look at you."

"Will you just let me explain what happened?" asked Riven.

"We told you, there's nothing to explain," said Layla.

Riven was about to deliver some smart-aleck comment, but was cut off when the first performer was announced and came onstage to sing.

"You know," Tecna whispered to Stella. "Maybe it's a good thing Musa changed the song she wanted to sing at the last minute. She'll probably sing the entire thing to Riven."

One after another, all the singers did their songs until only Musa was left. She had been watching the other performers from backstage the entire time. They were good, she had to admit it, but she intended to dominate the competition. She gave a weak smile to see the girls supporting her, but she had to choke back a gasp when she saw Riven in the audience too.

"No, this is a good thing," she said. "He'll see just how badly he's broken my heart."

When her name was called, she walked on stage and waited for the music to start. When she heard her cue, she began to sing.

_Seems like just yesterday_

_You were a part of me_

_I used to stand so tall_

_I used to be so strong_

_Your arms around me tight_

_Everything it felt so right_

_Unbreakable like nothing could go wrong_

_Now I can't breath,_

_No I can't sleep_

_I'm barely hanging on_

_Here I am once again_

_I'm torn into pieces_

_Can't deny it, can't pretend_

_Just thought you were the one_

_Broken up, deep inside_

_But you won't get to see the tears I cry_

_Behind these hazel eyes_

_I told you everything_

_Opened up and let you in_

_You made me feel all right,_

_For once in my life_

_Now all that's left of me_

_Is what I pretend to be_

_So together but so broken up inside_

_Cause I can't breath, no I can't sleep_

_I'm barely hanging on_

_Here I am once again_

_I'm torn into pieces_

_Can't deny it, can't pretend_

_Just thought you were the one_

_Broken up, deep inside_

_But you won't get to see the tears I cry_

_Behind these hazel eyes_

_Swallow me then spittin' me out_

_For hating you I blame myself_

_Seeing you it kills me now_

_No I don't cry on the outside anymore, anymore_

_Here I am once again_

_I'm torn into pieces_

_Can't deny it, can't pretend_

_Just thought you were the one_

_Broken up, deep inside_

_But you won't get to see the tears I cry_

_Behind these hazel eyes_

_Here I am, once again_

_I'm torn into pieces_

_Can't deny it, can't pretend_

_Just thought you were the one_

_Broken up, deep inside_

_But you won't get to see the tears I cry_

_Behind these hazel eyes_

The audience applauded as all the singers got up onstage for the judge to reveal who was the winner.

The announcer's then said, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce the winner of tonight's contest is Musa!" The Winx Club and their boyfriends all applauded and cheered as she claimed a trophy for her song. She went backstage so the girls could talk to her.

"You sounded wonderful out there Musa," said Bloom.

"You so sang that entire song to Riven, didn't you?" asked Stella.

"Yeah," said Musa. "I wanted him to realize how broken my heart is." They could see tears starting to form in her eyes at the very mention of him.

"Speaking of Riven," said Guinevere. "Look who's coming." All the girls turned to see the boys walking towards them, Riven included.

"Can you guys give me a head start?" she asked. "I don't want to talk to him."

"Sure Musa," said Layla. She looked at Jason and jerked her head towards the door. He nodded to show he understood.

"Let's wait for them by the levabikes," he said. "They just want a little girl time."

"But Jason, I need to talk to…" began Riven but Jason cut him off.

"That means you too Riven," said Jason as he pulled Riven outside away from the girls. Riven tried to walk towards the girls, but Jason and Sky forced him to walk outside.

"Thanks," said Musa, once the boys were gone. "I need some time to think. I'll meet you guys back at Alfea in a little while, ok?"

"Ok," said the rest of the girls together. They had all forgotten that Musa shouldn't have been going out by herself.

**Author's Note:** All right, so Musa is confused and heartbroken, just the condition she needs to be in for someone to take advantage of her. When I came up with the idea for this fic, I just knew I had to put in Kelly Clarkson songs, they just fit in so well with the storyline. Now, next chapter, we're going to have Musa kidnapped, the new villain's plans unveiled and we're going to have him begin to turn her into a witch. Stay tuned!


	3. Evil Intentions

Hey everyone. Okay, let's recap. Last chapter, we had Layla and Musa go for a jog in the park, but while they were there, they saw Riven flirting with another girl. Musa gets a broken heart, they go back to Alfea and tell the others, meanwhile other girl turns into Darcy, revealing that she spelled him again. He tries to see Musa, but the others won't let him in, so he goes to hear her sing, "Behind these Hazel Eyes," that night, and she goes off on her own after the concert. What's going to happen now that she's alone? I guess you guys will just have to wait and find out. Oooh, I love leaving my readers in suspense, which is also going to be the case after the end of this chapter as well. Happy reading!

**Chapter 3: Evil Intentions**

Musa dashed away from the group and pushed her way into a group of people that were gathered backstage. She then ducked through the stage door and ran outside into the clearing. She chose a path not far from where the boys were waiting and began down it. Knowing she had only seconds before they saw her, she stooped behind a clump of bushes that were on the outskirts of the forest. Peeking around the branches, she saw Riven talking to the other boys as though nothing had happened.

"Why would he do this?" she asked herself. "Why would he do this to me?" She crawled backward, further into the forest, then once she was sure she was out of sight, she got up and walked down the path, trying to work out a reason why Riven would hurt her like that.

"I don't get it," she said. "Last night he promised he'd protect me no matter what. Then in a matter of hours, he finds another girlfriend and tosses me over like yesterday's paper. Why would he do that? I thought he loved me."

"Obviously you were wrong," said a man, stepping out from behind a nearby tree and beginning to walk towards her.

"Who are you?" she asked, backing away from him.

"Just someone who cares for your wellbeing," he said, walking closer to her.

"Stay away from me," she said. But the man kept getting closer and closer to her. She tried to transform, but something was holding her back. She tried to run, but it was as though the trees had moved. From what it looked to her, they were so close together that one had to be as small as a church mouse to fit in between them. She shivered as she felt the air turning cold, and suddenly, she felt a cold, clammy hand on her shoulder. She let out a scream, just as her world went black.

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The boys had been waiting for several minutes for the girls to come outside and speak with them. Riven was starting to get really impatient, though he tried his hardest not to let it show. The rest could see it however.

"Relax Riven," said Jason. "They'll get here, then you'll get your chance to talk to Musa."

"If the other girls let him near her," said Brandon, earning himself a look from the others. "What?" he asked.

"I just hope she'll listen to me," said Riven.

"She will," said Timmy. "There's no reason for her not to hear you out. It's illogical for her not to." He was about to add some other statistic about his chances of getting Musa to listen to him, but he was cut off as he saw the girls exit the building.

"Hey girls," said Sky as six of the seven girls came walking towards them.

"Where's Musa?" asked Riven.

"She went for a walk," said Layla. "I gave Jason a signal to make him bring you guys out here so she could be alone."

"Yeah she did," said Jason. "I just said the first excuse that popped into my mind."

"And it was a good excuse," said Layla. "But she said she needed some time to think, so she's somewhere in the park wandering around.

"Are you girls out of your minds? We have to find her," said Riven.

"She doesn't want to see you Riven," said Stella.

"First off, it wasn't my fault. Darcy put a spell on me so that I'd break Musa's heart. I've been trying to explain that all day long. At the moment, I don't care if she wants to see me or not, she still shouldn't be out there alone."

"Oh my gosh, you guys we forgot," said Bloom.

"Musa's the next one," said Layla. "Darcy probably wanted Musa to think Riven had dumped her so they could catch her off guard."

"Then let's find her before…" began Riven, but he was cut off. Before they could even move, they heard Musa screaming from somewhere in the forest. "Oh no!" said Riven, as they ran in the direction the scream had come from. But by the time they got there, it was too late. Musa was nowhere to be found.

There was no sign that Musa had ever even been there, let alone that there might have been an attack. There weren't any scuff marks, no earth damaged, nothing of Musa's on the ground. All there was a blast of cold air around the whole clearing, which made a shiver run down all the girl's spines.

"Where is she?" asked Stella.

"Lose something did we?" came a voice from above them. The girls gasped when they saw the person the voice belonged to and Riven started trembling with rage. There was a man floating twenty feet above them, holding an unconscious Musa in his arms.

"Let her go!" yelled Riven angrily.

"Oh don't worry, you'll see her again," said the man. "But after I'm through with her, I don't think you'll much like the condition she'll be in."

The girls all started transforming but the man said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You can't make a move without endangering your friend. If you attack, all I have to do is hold her right in front of me." Riven pulled out his sword and started to run for the strange guy, but he disappeared, taking Musa along with him.

"No!" yelled all the girls together, while the guys stood there in a stunned silence.

"Come on," said Helia. "We have to get out of here and get back to Alfea."

"He's right," said Brandon. "We need to figure out who that guy is and where he took her."

The trip back to Alfea wasn't a pleasant one. Everyone was nervous and jumpy, and every time someone spoke, he or she got a snap or snarl back from someone else. Each person was glad to get back to Alfea and get to Ms. Faragonda's office. She wasn't shocked to hear about Musa's kidnapping, but she was still worried. She also didn't know what to tell the group, for she didn't know about the man or anyone who would want to kidnap her.

"This time I'm afraid I can't help you," said the headmistress worriedly. "I don't know who would want to kidnap Musa for her powers and I don't know where they've taken her."

"Wait a minute Ms. F," said Stella. "Musa mentioned something about how she was able to see into the future because of something you gave her. Can we use it to try and find her?"

"I hadn't thought of that," said Ms. Faragonda. "All right girls, look at this."

She opened the secret compartment and pulled out the mirror again. She explained its qualities the same way she had explained them to Musa. Flora, Helia and Guinevere recognized its power at once, remembering the Pool of Infinity on Lynphea. This made Guinevere start wondering if there was an equivalent of that mirror on Rampara, and if there was, where it was kept.

Bloom took the mirror and concentrated on finding Musa. When the image appeared, they saw her lying unconscious in a cave, her hands and feet tied, and the man from the park there with her. Icy, Darcy and Stormy were there too and they were talking about what they were going to do with her. With everything that was said, the girls became more and more frightened.

"Can't we use her for target practice?" asked Stormy. "Imagine our own pixie attack target!"

"I say we set her free and then entertain ourselves by chasing her and attacking her then," said Darcy. "It won't be any fun practicing our attacks if she has nowhere to run."

"I say we just steal her powers and trap her in an ice coffin," said Icy.

"Appealing as those all sound, I have other plans for her," said the man. "But first we have to wait until she wakes up. I probably shouldn't have knocked her out."

"Why do we have to wait so long?" asked Stormy. "Can't we just steal her powers, whatever your name is?"

"It's Rancor and I'm going to trick her into giving us her powers," he said. "When she wakes up, I'll put false thoughts of her friends into her mind. She'll think they've always hated her and that her boyfriend was pretending to love her."

"Pretending to love her?" asked Darcy.

"Yes, she'll think he was just waiting for the right time to break her heart like he has with all his other girlfriends."

"Then what about her powers?" asked Icy.

"Her powers aren't like the other girls, where they've been hidden in their home realm," he said. "They've been growing inside her, strengthening every time she used her Winx. When they reach their peak, I'll make up some excuse that will make her willingly give them to me. And I have a little, shall we say, trick set up so she will never be able to get them back."

"That's too dastardly for words," said Icy. "I love it."

"But what happens if the spell breaks before we steal her powers?" asked Darcy.

"I have a backup plan," said Rancor simply.

The girls had seen enough and so had Riven.

"Can you guys tell where she is?" he asked.

"All I can tell is somewhere still in Magix," said Tecna. "I can't figure out where the cave is."

"Then let's get out of here and find her," said Riven.

"Riven, we can't just go out there and search every single cave in Magix," said Timmy. "We have to figure out which one she's in. It'll take time."

"We don't have time," said Riven. "They'll be bringing her under their control any second."

"Girls, use your Winx to find her," said Ms. Faragonda. "If you cast a tracking spell over the entire realm, it should lead you to Musa within a matter of minutes. Hurry before they put the spell on her."

"Come on, let's go!" said Bloom. They ran out of the office and into the quad. The girls all transformed and performed the tracking spell. Within a few moments, they had a fix on Musa's location. The girls started flying, and the boys followed them in a ship.

"Hang on Musa," said Layla, silently. "We'll be there soon."

------------

Musa woke up a few minutes after the rest of the gang had left Alfea. It took a moment for her to get her eyes open; it felt like they were being held down with large chunks of metal. After a few minutes, she managed to sit up, but she then realized her hands and feet were tightly bound and she couldn't move. She struggled against her bonds, but she hadn't yet recovered all her strength. It was taking most of what little energy she had not to go back to sleep. A sudden movement caught her eye and in an instant, the man from the park standing in front of her.

"Where am I? Who are you? What's going on here?" she asked.

"It's all right," said the man. "My name is Rancor and I'm here to help you. All you have to do is trust me.

"How can I trust you when you kidnapped me and tied me up?" asked Musa.

"If you weren't tied up, it would be hard to get you to listen to me," said Rancor.

"Let me go!" she yelled. "I'm not going to listen to a word you say."

"Oh I think you will," he said. "It concerns the truth about your friends."

"My friends are on their way here to come and save me," said Musa.

"No they're not, my dear," said Rancor. "They're glad you're not there to burden them as they say. They think you've just left Alfea out of the blue. They don't know why, but then again, they don't care. They're just jumping for joy at the thought of never ever seeing you again."

"But we all promised we'd be best friends forever," said Musa.

"They're hypocrites, every single one of them," said Rancor. "They consider you someone who hangs around with them just because you share their dorm with them."

"You're lying!" yelled Musa.

"I'm not," said Rancor. "I've been watching your so-called friends, and I can use my powers to show you a conversation they're having at this very moment."

He closed his eyes and raised his hands in front of him, pointing directly at her. Musa watched him, trying to maintain a calm expression, but her eyes betrayed her, clearly showing her fear. Several dark rings started to revolve around her and a vision of her friends entered her mind. She gasped when she saw that her friends were just sitting around in Bloom and Flora's room, talking about her as though she was nothing more than a nuisance.

"Is anyone else but me glad that Musa's gone for good?" asked Layla.

"You know it," said Bloom. "I was getting tired of her going on about her music. Don't get me wrong, I love music but her never talking about anything else got so boring."

"The only other things she talked about were her mother and Riven," said Guinevere.

"Yeah, I mean I know I talk about Brandon all the time, but she honestly wouldn't stop going on about Riven," said Stella. "Honestly, why would anyone want to go out with someone like him?"

"I think he's glad she's gone too," said Flora. "He never really liked her either."

"He was just waiting to break her heart," said Tecna. "It was obvious he just wanted to hurt her like he's hurt tons of his other girlfriends. That's what Timmy told me."

Musa had seen and heard enough. Rancor could tell that she didn't want to see anymore and stopped the vision, but the dark rings still spiraled around her. Rancor said, "now do you believe me? They're glad you've gone, they never want to see you again. Real friends would never say that about someone they care about and if he was your boyfriend, he wouldn't have purposefully tried to hurt you like that. You saw him this morning, he was absorbed in another girl, one who was prettier than you by far, and probably has features that he takes much more interest in than he does in you. Join me Musa and we can make them pay."

"What's happening to me?" asked Musa. She didn't know what to believe, Rancor's vision or three years of Alfea with her friends. "I'm stronger than this, I can't give in. I know my friends care for me. We fought the Army of Decay together, we defeated Lord Darkar together. Riven wouldn't have hugged me like that in ShadowHaunt if he didn't actually mean it. None of this makes any sense. It just can't be true, it just can't be."

"She is proving stubborn," Rancor said silently. "I'm going to have to work harder."

"I don't believe you," Musa said aloud to him. "My friends wouldn't say that."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Rancor.

"Because of all we've been through together," replied Musa.

"They were using you. They knew they wouldn't be able to defeat witches or any other villain without you. A spell is always stronger when more than one fairy is casting it after all. They needed your powers to give them an extra advantage. And you can cast a pretty powerful spell when you want to, they were glad to have you on their side when they need magic, but that's all. They want nothing to do with you now, and they don't ever want to see you again!"

"No," whispered Musa feebly, but she was starting to succumb to the lies. Dark magic was

completely surrounding her now, working its way into her thoughts, gnawing away at her heart. All she could concentrate on was what she'd heard her friends saying.

"They must have been waiting for me to get back from my walk," she said. "Riven was going to break my heart in front of all of them right then and there, but I guess Layla decided to let me wallow in doubt a little more first. They're not my friends, they're traitors, all of them!"

"They don't want you Musa, but I do," said Rancor. "I can show you everything you are capable of. I can show you what a true friend is. I can show you the world, if you'll let me."

"All right," said Musa, opening her eyes. They were now a dark, steely gray color and she was now wearing her Winx outfit, but it was now black. She rose up in the air, the ropes around her wrists and ankles gone, and said, "It's time to make them pay!"

**Author's Note:** All right, so we have our newest villain, Rancor, (is that a perfect name or what?) and we know what his plan is, so the next question is, what the heck are the girls going to do about it? We know they have to do something, but they can't just grab a potion off the shelf and get her to drink it, nor is she going to give them much of a chance to cast a counter curse. I told you you'd be left in suspense at the end of this next chapter. Next time, we're going to have our first true encounter with Musa as a witch, a little power training session between Musa and Rancor, and the arrival of Nirvana at Alfea. Just wait until we get to that part, she's going to have a little light to shed on the situation. Stay tuned!


	4. Musa, the Witch!

Hey everyone. I know I take forever to respond back to chapters, but don't worry, I'm on spring break now and I have plenty of time to write some more. Okay, last chapter we had Musa kidnapped and taken to a cave where a new villain named Rancor and the witches were planning to brainwash her. They succeeded in doing so right before the fairies and heroes got there, but that's where we have a problem: the fairies and heroes don't know that yet. Yeah, that's going to be a shock. One more thing, I know at the end of the last chapter I said we'd have Nirvana back in this one. I changed my mind and decided to wait one more chapter for that, otherwise there wouldn't be much else to put in it. Happy reading!

**Chapter 4: Musa, the Witch!**

By this time, the rest of the group were almost to the cave Musa and Rancor were in. The girls were flying as quickly as their wings could carry them, while the boys were following behind in the ship. Thanks to a handy little spell on Guinevere's part, they were actually moving faster than the guys were.

"Come on!" yelled Bloom. "We're almost there!"

"We're going as fast as we can Bloom!" yelled Flora.

"It's not fast enough!" interjected Layla. "Musa may already be beyond our help."

"Don't say that," said Stella. "I hate the idea of having to fight her."

"We all do Stella, but if he's already done what he said he would, then we won't have any choice," said Tecna. "Besides, I find it highly doubtful that she'll believe him. No spell no matter how powerful could make her forget we're her friends."

"I hope you're right on that one Tecna," said Bloom. But remembering what she had gone through when Lord Darkar turned her evil, she knew her friend was wrong. She just sighed and closed her eyes against what she was certain would turn out to be a horrible truth.

"She has to be," said Guinevere. "We have to get to Musa in time, we just have to."

The boys heard their entire conversation, but didn't say anything. They were all too worried to say anything, Riven in particular. He kept pacing back and forth across the ship, which got on the other guys' nerves, but they didn't dare say anything. One word to Riven and he'd go off like a loose cannon.

They were just seconds away from the cave, when suddenly, a large ball of dark energy came crashing into the ship and it went spinning off course. The boys couldn't keep control of it, and each was sent colliding into the wall as they felt it crash to the ground, completely totaled. They walked outside to join the girls, thankfully none of them injured.

"What happened?" asked Bloom, flying over to Sky.

"I don't know," he said. "One minute we were flying along and then something hit us. I don't know what it was."

"It was us," said Stormy as she, Icy and Darcy appeared in front of them.

"Now really isn't the time to mess with us, witches," said Layla.

"We know that," said Icy. "With your friend in danger, it'll make beating you pixies all the more fun for us." They started firing every attack they had at the fairies and heroes. The team hid in a grove of trees to come up with a strategy.

"We have to find some way around them," said Tecna. "They're blocking the way to Musa."

"We need a diversion," said Guinevere.

"You guys keep them busy," said Riven. "I'm going after Musa."

"Okay," said Bloom. "Layla and Jason go with him."

"But…" began Riven but Bloom cut him off.

"Riven, you're going to need all the help you can get if Rancor or one of the witches goes after you," said Bloom. "Hurry up and find Musa!"

Bloom, Guinevere, Stella, Tecna and Flora flew out of their hiding spot to try and distract the witches, but before they could attack, another blast came flying at them.

"Honestly, is it fire all you want at the fairies day?" asked Stella after avoiding it, but she shut her mouth quickly as she looked up to see who had fired the blast. All the rest of the group froze as they saw the source of it. Tears began to form in Flora's eyes and Layla couldn't breathe for a few seconds. The boys all stood on the ground speechless, Riven was petrified with shock. Musa was flying towards them, her eyes no longer a beautiful blue, but a cold, steely gray and her Winx outfit was now black. She no longer had a kind smile, but an evil smirk, although at the moment, her face had an expression of immense anger. She was trembling with rage, firing every attack she could at her old friends. The girls just avoided the attacks, not wanting to fire an attack at her that might hurt her. They tried to hide again to come up with a plan, but she wouldn't let them. Finally, they had no choice but to attack.

"Tidal Wave!" yelled Layla. But Musa absorbed the attack as though it were a sound wave.

"Musa, what's happened to you?" asked Flora, the tears beginning to slide down her face. But they all knew what had happened. They had gotten there too late and Rancor had poisoned her mind against them. He had done just what he'd said he was going to do; what they'd heard him say in the mirror. He'd turned her into a witch!

"I thought you were my friends!" yelled Musa, firing at them again. Her voice now had a cold, sharp edge to it. "I trusted you! I believed in you! I thought you liked me for who I was, not hated me behind my back!"

"We do like you for who you are," said Bloom.

"Musa, can't you see what Rancor has done to you?" asked Flora. "He's brainwashed you!"

"Yeah, you're a fairy, not a witch!" said Guinevere. "Take it from me, I know."

"You're a wonderful friend Musa," said Layla. "Listen to us!"

"No! I'm through listening to you!" she yelled.

"Musa, snap out of it!" yelled Riven. "It's us, your friends. I'm your boyfriend!" Silently he was saying, "I can't believe I just said that, considering I've never asked her to be my girlfriend."

"You're lying, you're all lying!" yelled Musa. "Rancor told me everything, how you've always hated me. How you've always been saying things about me behind my back. And you Riven, you were just waiting for the perfect moment to break my heart. I can't believe I actually…Argh!" She fired her strongest attack at Riven, but he dodged it. He ran towards her, but she flew out of his reach and kept attacking.

"We have to regroup!" yelled Brandon. "We need to get out of here and come up with a plan!"

"Before she tears us to pieces!" added Stella, absorbing one of Musa's attacks with her staff.

"Let's get the girls back to Alfea!" yelled Sky.

"Yeah, Ms. Faragonda can help us come up with a plan!" said Helia.

"I'm not going anywhere without Musa!" interrupted Riven. He ran towards her, but Timmy and Jason held him back.

"Riven, that isn't Musa up there," said Jason. "That's not the Musa we know."

"The Musa we know is in there somewhere, if I can just talk to her, we may have a shot," said Riven, trying to break free. But the boys just held on tighter.

"Riven, just think about this," said Timmy. "Does she look like she's ready to just stop attacking, sit down and listen to you? She'll destroy you if you get anywhere near her. We need a plan and you know it."

Riven sighed, knowing they were right, and said, "Okay, let's go."

They didn't know how they managed to get back on the ship unscathed. Layla and Bloom had to put up a shield to resist Musa's attacks while the rest of the girls fought the witches off. Luckily, they decided they weren't in a fighting mood and disappeared to report back to Rancor. Musa, however, wasn't going to let them off the hook that easily. She kept firing and flying after them, even after they were all loaded onto the ship, but Timmy hit the accelerator and they flew back to Alfea, leaving her in the dust. She just watched them go, an evil glint in her eye, before going back to the cave.

The trip back to Alfea was very quiet. No one said a word, particularly not to Riven, who had sunk down in a chair in the back of the ship, unable to believe what had just happened. He held his face in his hands and tried his hardest to block the picture he now had of Musa out of his memory. He focused instead on the girl she really was, the one that loved music, loved her friends, and even though she'd never said it, loved him.

"I'm sorry Musa," he whispered, so quietly that the others couldn't hear. "I'm so sorry I didn't protect you. But know this, I _will_ save you. I'll save you even if it's the last thing I ever do."

------------

When the headmistress heard what had happened, she sat thinking for a minute and said, "First of all, I think I should cast a little spell on the boys. This will keep the witches from ever casting any sort of hypnotizing spell on you again. And if any other boys join your group, this spell will automatically be put on them as well. Asanus acarsenta montasus." She raised her hands and golden circles formed around all the boys. Golden light flowed all over them and after a few seconds disappeared. They were now immune to all of the witches brainwashing and hypnotizing spells.

"That was awesome Ms. F," said Stella

"Now what do we do about Musa?" asked Flora.

"You have to gain Musa's trust back. She has to remember all the times she's shared with all of you. The problem is no spell can do that. You have to try and reason with her and fighting her will only turn her more against you."

"We tried reasoning with her out there, it didn't work," said Brandon.

"You obviously didn't try hard enough," said Ms. Faragonda. "Trust me, if you can get her to listen to you, she'll break free of Rancor's spell, just as Bloom broke free of Lord Darkar's."

"So basically, we all have to help Musa the way Sky helped me?" asked Bloom.

"Exactly," said Ms. Faragonda. "But like everything else in life, it's more difficult than it sounds. You will have to get her on her own, without Rancor or the witches there. If she's alone, you'll have a better chance at getting her to listen to you. If Rancor is there, he'll just poison her mind even more. He'll make her think you want to get her back so you can hurt her again, especially you Riven."

"Musa knows I'd never hurt her, how can she listen to him?" he asked.

"I used that mirror I showed you to watch more of what was happening to Musa," said Ms. Faragonda. "She didn't listen to him at first but he used his magic to create a vision of you girls talking about her. He told her you were saying several horrible things about her at that very moment. She didn't want to believe it, but that vision plus a little more coaxing on his part was enough to make her give in, which is exactly what Rancor wanted. Now he'll continue to control her until her powers reach their peak. Then he'll trick her again, like he said. But you girls have to get her back, before her powers reach their crest. When they do, Rancor will steal them and then destroy her."

"What is this thing about Musa's powers anyway?" asked Timmy. "They're really gaining strength inside her?"

"Yes," said Ms. Faragonda. "Rancor was telling the truth when he said that they're not hidden in some part of her home realm, as is the case with the rest of you girls. It's a unique trait in her family, to keep the power locked within her heart, until it reaches its full potential. I don't think Musa's father ever told her that, he was probably saving it for the day her power did reach full strength."

"But Musa isn't even royalty," said Brandon. "I thought all these powers could only be controlled by a princess."

"Wait, that's not quite true," said Layla, and everyone else turned to look at her. "Her father was a prince, but his family disowned him when he decided to pursue a career in music. He officially renounced his title when he met and fell in love with his wife. So, she does still have royal blood, she's just never been given the title of princess, which would explain how she'd come to have these powers."

"You're exactly right Layla," said the headmistress. "And when she does get her power, she'll have no choice but to assume the role of princess. It's her destiny, just as the life of a princess and queen is the destiny of all you girls."

"Is there any way to tell when her powers will reach their peak?" asked Flora, wanting to get back to the business at hand.

"I can't be exactly certain but I've been studying Musa's powers and attack patterns for awhile now and I gather it's only a matter of days," said Ms. Faragonda. "I want you all to get back out there and find her. She has to remember who she really is before Rancor steals her powers."

------------

"Well done Musa," said Rancor. "That was splendid. I've never seen such power, such exhilaration used in such a way. And I must admit I loved it!"

"Thanks Rancor," said Musa, her voice now had a growl to it. "I've gotta admit it was fun to attack those…those backstabbers! Next time, they won't get away! I'll make sure they won't get away."

"Patience Musa," said Rancor. "You'll get your chance to get revenge on them, but you need to master your powers."

"What do you mean 'master my powers'? I've mastered them already."

"You may think so," said Rancor. "But they are growing inside of you and will keep growing until they reach their zenith. You will need to learn a few things before that happens. Let me see now, if we continue practicing and practicing, your powers should be complete within the next 72 hours, possibly the next 48, it's hard to tell. Come, come now my princess, we have much to do and very little time to do it, so if you don't mind, I think we should get started."

"Where do we start?" asked Musa.

"I'm going to put you in a sort of simulation," said Rancor. "Icy! Darcy! Stormy!"

"What do you want?" asked Stormy, appearing beside him along with the other two witches. "We were just coming up with new ways to kick those pixies buts."

"I know you want in on their destruction, but that's Musa's job now," said Rancor. "Let her have the pleasure of finishing them off once and for all, though you three can help if you want. Now, I want all three of you to fight Musa. I'm going to put you in a battle simulation and I want you to use every attack you can on her. She has to learn how to master her powers."

Darcy had begun to ask, "what's the point," but Icy nudged her to make her keep quiet. Rancor waved his arms in the air and the room around them melted away to be replaced with a desolate, barren realm.

"Okay ladies, let's show this poser what real power is," said Icy. "Ice Crystals!"

"Optical Darkness!"

"Psycho Cyclone!"

But Musa caught their attacks in her hands and fired them back upon their owners. Then she used a new attack to send them flying backwards. Each witch hit the wall of the cave with a loud, resounding thud, and took several minutes to get back up. Musa took advantage of their vulnerability and kept firing, and it was all they could do to dodge them. After five minutes, the three witches were laying on the ground, panting from sheer exhaustion. Musa flew forward, ready to strike again, but stopped when she heard Rancor clap his hands, and instantly, they were back to where they were before.

"Well done Musa," said Rancor again. "Just keep on fighting like that and those fairies won't stand a chance. Now go! Go and find them."

Musa just nodded determinedly and headed off for Alfea, ready to finish off her so-called friends as soon as possible. She had something in mind for each of them, especially that heartbreaker Riven.

"What was the point of that?" asked Icy, once Musa was out of earshot and once she had enough strength to prop herself up against the cave wall and speak. "You told her she'd have to master her powers. What's the point of her learning how to use them if you're just going to take them?"

"Before that fight, her powers would have taken another three days to reach their peak," said Rancor. "But the more power she uses, the more the time before that event will lessen. Her powers now stand at reaching that level in two days, as opposed to three."

"Clever, so what happens if she destroys her friends?" asked Stormy.

"Then there'll be no one to stop me from taking her powers and letting you three finish her off," said Rancor.

"And what if they do manage to get her to listen to them?" asked Darcy.

"There's a catch to the spell I put on her," said Rancor. "If it gets broken, she'll be fine at first. But then, her powers will start attacking her from the inside. Every second, her power will gain dark strength, hurting her even more, until she can't take it anymore and she'll be history. After that, the power is set to come to me, no matter who else is there. Then if it hasn't reached its peak by the time it finishes her, it will within me and I will become King of all realms, with the three of you at my side."

"Sounds awesome," said Icy. "I can't wait to see that pixie's magic in our…I mean, your hands." She seriously hoped Rancor hadn't heard her little slipup, but he appeared to take no notice.

"Come on, let's go get seats to watch the fight with her old friends," said Darcy, leading the way out of the cave.

They disappeared, leaving Rancor smirking after them. "They really think I'll let them hang around, after I've gotten Musa's powers. As soon as I'm done with her, they're next."

**Author's Note:** All right, so we have Musa, the latest witch around the block, we have Rancor with his evil plan and backup plan, should the others break the spell and we have his little subplot to destroy the witches. Come on, you had to know that was coming. These villains never trust each other, they're always plotting how best to double cross each other. When we get later on in the series, I'll introduce you to a pair of villains, a brother and sister pair, who spend half their time battling their enemies and the other half spying on each other, making sure one isn't about to try and do in the other.

Okay, so next chapter, I promise Nirvana is going to be back and she will shed some light on what's going on. She will have a little bit of interesting information about Rancor, I won't tell you what just yet, and we're going to have the group attempt to break the spell on Musa, I won't tell you whether or not they succeed either. You'll just have to read and find out. Stay tuned!


	5. Problem Solved, Problem Presented

Hey everyone. Now before you start this chapter, I want to clarify something up. I know that by the end of it you're going to be thinking, "what! She's putting this section of the story in already?" I won't tell you what's happening in the chapter yet, but trust me, that's going to be your reaction by the end of it. And that's only because there are a couple other things in this story that have to happen, besides Musa being brainwashed and turned into an evil, power-hungry witch. I make her sound so awful there, don't I? I'm sorry for that, but don't worry, she'll be back to normal before too long. Happy reading!

**Chapter 5: Problem Solved, Problem Presented**

"Have you made any progress Tecna?" asked Layla.

"Not yet," said Tecna, typing rapidly into her computer, using it for a tracking spell.

"Well hurry up," said Riven. "I don't know if I can take much more of this waiting."

For the last couple hours, while Musa had been undergoing her power training with Rancor and the witches, the girls had been using several tracking spells to try and find her, but so far nothing had worked. They'd come to the conclusion that Rancor had cloaked her signal so that they couldn't find her until she was ready to reappear again. They were so wrapped up in what they were doing that they didn't hear a soft knock on the door, nor did they notice the door crack open a little bit and a brunette poke her head in.

"Calm down Riven," said Sky. "We'll find Musa, don't worry."

"Anything going on I should know about?" asked a voice from the door.

"Nirvana!" they all said, turning to look at the door, now wide open, and the person standing in it. The Princess of Angelicas smiled at them all as she walked into the room. She was wearing a red, strapless top and a pair of white pants, with a pair of very high red heels. Her deep brown hair was still up in a bun and she was wearing the same necklace she wore in her Winx outfit, a short gold one with a single ruby. She looked ravishing, making all the boys stare at her for a minute before remembering they all had girlfriends. None of the girls were sure they were okay with this, deciding that the sooner they found Nirvana a boyfriend, the better. None knew about her missing boyfriend Carlos, or that one reason Nirvana had come to Alfea was to seek their help in finding him.

"What's happening?" she asked, seeing the distressed looks on their faces, which pushed any thoughts of Carlos out of her mind. They quickly explained what Rancor had done to Musa, and as she listened, a look came over her face, a very puzzled look. They knew she was thinking deeply about something, but they couldn't see what was so puzzling about the situation.

"What's the matter Nirvana?" asked Guinevere.

"I remember him," said Nirvana. "Just before Paritho left to capture Tecna, Rancor came to Angelicas. He and Paritho had some kind of private conversation I tried to listen in on."

The girls all exchanged curious looks while the guys' eyes all widened in surprise. None could imagine what Rancor and Paritho had to do with each other; nor did they know for that matter how the witches always managed to hook up with different villains so quickly, but they had the feeling that they were going to find out before too long.

Nirvana continued, "They were talking about plans they had for Tecna and Musa. I found out about Paritho's plans that way, but without my powers, there was nothing I could do to stop him. He tried to get Rancor to tell him what his plans were, but all Rancor would say was that he had a cruel idea in mind for Musa. He didn't say anything else. Then I heard them walking in my direction and got the heck out of there. All I could think of after that was what would be the best way to disrupt a wedding without getting myself killed."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" asked Riven.

"I didn't think it important," said Nirvana. "I didn't know what was going on. At the time, I didn't even know who Musa was. Then when you guys showed up, I was too preoccupied with finding a way to stop the hurried wedding to even think about Rancor. My gosh, I probably could have helped you guys prevent this. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault," said Bloom.

"Now that you're here, do you have any ideas on how we can help Musa?" asked Flora.

"I don't know enough about the spell Rancor put on her to come up with a good solution," said Nirvana. "If I knew what spell he used and had a few of my books from home, I could probably tell you something though. What did Ms. Faragonda say?"

"She said that we have to find her and then try to get her to remember that we're her true friends," said Layla. "That's supposed to help her overcome the spell."

"But what are supposed to say to her when we find her?" asked Sky. "She wouldn't listen to us the first time, meaning we're going to have to work some kind of miracle to get her to listen to us now."

"Uh guys…" said Tecna.

"You're right," said Brandon. "I mean, Musa's always been kind of stubborn, but it looks like that spell made her even more stubborn."

"Guys…" said Tecna, a little more urgently.

"Well, we have to think of something and quickly," said Helia.

"See this is what I mean, no one listens to me anymore," said Tecna, referring to a comment she'd made on Lynphea while trying to defeat the witches.

"What's the matter Tecna?" asked Timmy.

"I've found Musa," said Tecna.

"Well, where is she?" asked Riven.

"Here," said Tecna simply.

"What do you mean 'here?'" asked Bloom. But her question was answered for her by a large blast coming from outside, the sheer force of which knocked everyone to the floor. They dashed outside and found Musa, hovering twenty feet above them, ready to attack them further.

"Is it just me or has she gotten stronger?" asked Stella.

"Rancor must've done something to her to intensify her attacks," Guinevere.

"We have to draw her away from the school," said Layla.

"Okay girls, let's go," said Bloom. She, Stella, Layla, Flora, Tecna, Nirvana and Guinevere all transformed and flew up to meet Musa.

"Ready for ultimate oblivion?" asked Musa.

"Musa, listen to us!" yelled Flora. "This isn't the real you. You're our friend!"

"You're just saying that to make me trust you again," said Musa. "You're no friends of mine!"

"Musa, can't you see what Rancor has done to you?" yelled Tecna.

"He's told me everything I need to know," yelled Musa. "He told me everything about all of you."

"You can't believe him," said Jason. "He's telling you lies about all of us."

"You're the ones who are telling me lies!" yelled Musa. She fired one of her attacks at Jason but he dodged it.

"Musa, stop please!" yelled Guinevere.

"We have to get her to listen to us by making sure she can't attack us," yelled Nirvana. "Let's try to subdue her!"

"What do you mean by subdue her?" asked Riven. But what she meant was attack.

"Heaven's Charm!" yelled Nirvana.

"Dark Sound Blast!" yelled Musa, which knocked Nirvana back against a nearby tree.

"Psycho Cyclone!" yelled Stormy appearing out of nowhere. A gigantic cyclone spiraled toward the girls, and it was all they could do to avoid it.

"Just what we need," muttered Layla, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What are you three doing here?" asked Musa, as the three witches flew up to her. "I told you, I wanted to finish them off myself."

"We know, but you can't blame us for wanting to watch," said Icy. The girls and the boys all knew that getting Musa back was going to be ten times harder with the witches there, but they couldn't just stand there and do nothing. The witches were probably about to start giving her some kind of pep talk against her friends, and no way were they going to let that happen.

"I want the three of you out of here!" exclaimed Musa. "I don't want you messing this up!"

"You really think we're going to mess this up?" asked Stormy.

"Wouldn't surprise me," said Musa.

"You know, we're capable of more than just losing all the time," said Darcy.

"Ha!" laughed Musa. "If you think you're going to join me in fighting these pixies, you're wrong!"

"Did she just call us pixies?" asked Stella.

"She doesn't know what she's saying Stella," said Flora. "It's not the real her up there."

"You make too many excuses for people Flora," said Stella.

"I've got an idea," said Nirvana. "You guys cover me in case they notice me coming, I'm hoping they won't. Wish me luck." She flew slowly towards Musa and the witches. "Keep arguing, keep arguing," she muttered, counting on the fight to keep them distracted.

"What is she doing?" asked Tecna. They watched as Nirvana flew closer to them and when she was close enough yelled, "Angel's Light!" A beam of pink light shot out from her hands and wrapped around the witches. They fell to the ground, tied back to back, not being able to move more than a few inches.

"Way to go Nirvana!" yelled Layla.

"This is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo embarrassing," said Icy.

"You said it," said Darcy, trying to get free.

"Wait 'til I get my hands on that pixie," said Stormy.

"Can you do anything to keep them quiet?" asked Bloom, sending an irritated look at the witches. Another beam of light came out of Nirvana's hands and a barrier formed around the witches, making it impossible for the girls to hear what they were saying. The girls all smiled at that, but the smiles were wiped right off their faces when they realized that they still had Musa to deal with.

"Nice light trick," said Musa. "But guess what, it'll take more than that to beat me!"

"Musa, please stop!" yelled Flora. But Musa just sent another attack at the girls, which sent them careening back to the ground. The boys ran to their girlfriends, worry written all over their faces.

"She won't listen to us," said Sky. "We have to get out of here and come up with another plan."

"Not this time Sky!" said Riven angrily. "I'm not going anywhere without her!"

"Riven, how many times do we have to tell you she won't listen to you most of all?" asked Brandon. "You're the one Rancor's poisoned her mind against. She'll destroy you if you give her that option."

"I won't give her that option," said Riven, beginning to walk towards her.

"Seriously Riven?" asked Jason, grabbing hold of Riven and forcing him back. "If you so much as take one step towards her, that's giving her an invitation to destroy you. We have to think of a way to lessen her power, then get her to somehow believe that we say is the truth."

"You know," said Layla on a sudden thought. "I'll bet the reason she won't listen to us, is because we're in our Winx form." The others looked at her as though she were insane. "No listen. The reason she keeps attacking us is because she thinks we're going to attack her. Since we're in our Winx form, she thinks we're trying to gain her trust back, so we can hurt her all over again."

"That makes sense," said Tecna. "We have to gain back her trust without force."

"And to do that, we'll have to power down, approach her quietly and tell her what's real and what's not," said Bloom.

"I'll go first," said Layla.

"Be careful," said Jason.

Layla nodded and walked forward. Musa was ready to attack her again, but stopped when she saw Layla walking calmly forward. "I'm not going to fight you Musa," said Layla.

"What kind of trick are you trying to pull?" asked Musa, eyes narrowed.

"It's not a trick, I promise," replied Layla. "And to prove it, I'll power down my Winx." Musa was confused, she didn't know whether to believe Layla or not. The Princess of Tides continued, "Musa, you're the first friend I've had in a long time, ever since my friend from Tides, Anne, left. You welcomed me into the Winx Club and helped me get used to Alfea. I've never been good with friendships; you have no idea how difficult it was for me to open up to everything and everyone here. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yeah Musa," said Flora, also powering down her Winx. "You're a really wonderful friend. Without you and your music, our lives would be empty. I can't imagine what it'd be like not having you in our group."

Now as each of the Winx girls came forward, they powered down their Winx. Tecna was next. "Musa, being your roommate for the last couple years, I know you better than anyone else here and I know this isn't the real you. Don't you understand that Rancor has put you under a spell? You're one of the nicest fairies I've ever met, you're not an evil witch."

"I never really got an opportunity to thank you or anyone else for helping me save Rampara," said Guinevere. "You helped me beat that curse; I'll help you beat this one."

"The same goes for me," said Nirvana. "You helped me on Angelicas, making you and everyone else here the best friends I've ever had. All I want is the chance to repay you and what better way than to help save you."

"You've always put up with me Musa," said Stella. "I know my mouth gets in the way sometimes, and I know I bug you about stuff you don't want to be bugged about, but I still think you're an awesome friend. Only a real friend could deal with the stuff I say." She was about to go on about how she didn't know why Musa was going out with Riven instead of Jared, but Layla elbowed her in the ribs.

"Musa, you've helped me when I needed help the most," said Bloom. "When the witches stole the Dragon Fire, when Lord Darkar turned me evil, every time I needed help you were there. Now it's my turn to help you. Please listen to us and fight this awful curse!"

"Check it out," said Sky. "She's starting to snap out of it." A red glow was starting to form around Musa and for a moment, she was back in her normal Winx outfit but the next minute, she was back to being evil. "We have to help the girls, she needs our input as well as theirs," he continued. Then he said to her, "Musa, you have to listen us. You have to fight this spell!"

"Yeah Musa, we need you as part of the team," said Timmy.

"You've gotten us out of so many tight spots, you're a powerful fairy," said Brandon.

"Like the Red Fountain concert," said Helia. "Do you remember that? You used your music to defeat Stormy and saved everyone there, including your father. I've never seen a man as proud of his daughter as he was of you."

"I can't imagine a world without music, especially without yours Musa," said Jason.

"Is it working?" asked Guinevere. For a moment, it looked like their encouragement was working. It was as though the scene from Lynphea, when Flora had saved her cousin, was playing all over again, for what had happened to Guinevere then was happening to Musa now. She was moving between her good self and her evil self, as though she didn't know which one she should go with.

Riven took a deep breath, walked forward and said, "Musa, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This whole thing is my fault. I promised I'd protect you and then I let Darcy spell me again. If I had kept on my guard, you wouldn't have fallen into Rancor's hands. Please believe me Musa, I would never intentionally hurt you. I took an attack for you when we were in Realix, remember? And what I said to you before that isn't something I say very often. You must know that I meant it! Come back to us, come back to me!"

That did it. The red glow formed over her entire body and when it stopped, she was back to being her normal self. She hovered in the air for a moment, then she powered down and drifted back to the ground, landing in Riven's arms. The rest of the group crowded around them. Riven held her close to him, wondering if she was all right. She slowly opened her eyes and saw all of her friends around her. She was so happy, she couldn't speak.

"Musa, are you…" began Riven, but he stopped as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him more tightly than she ever had before. He hugged her back, as though he never wanted to let go of her again. "I'm glad you're back," he whispered in her ear.

"So am I," she said. She let go of him and said, "thanks guys." The rest of the girls all gave her a group hug, glad they had their friend back at last.

"How sweet," said Rancor, making them all jump in surprise; none of them had noticed he'd appeared. This also made them all very nervous; powering down when trying to talk with Musa had put them at a serious disadvantage and they knew that Rancor would never give them the chance to reenergize themselves.

He continued, "I'd never have thought you'd go back to your friends Musa, not after what I told you. I thought for sure you were mine."

Musa felt Riven's grip on her tighten in anxiety, but she knew that he didn't have any cause to worry. "I've had enough of you Rancor," she yelled. "I'm not listening to anything else you say."

"Shame," said Rancor. "You might want to listen to what I have to say concerning the aftermath of the spell you just broke, but you probably won't so I won't bother. Come ladies." He snapped his fingers and he and the witches disappeared.

"What did he mean by the aftermath of the spell?" asked Bloom.

"I don't know, but…" Layla began but she gasped. They all saw in a second what he had meant. Musa had given a cry of pain and collapsed. Riven caught her as she was about to hit the ground.

"Musa, what is it?" he asked. She had her hand over her heart, a look of intense pain on her face.

"I don't know," she said. "Suddenly, my heart...aagh!"

"We have to get her back to Alfea," said Guinevere. "Ms. Faragonda will know what to do." She said a quick spell and after a minute or two, they were transported back to the fairy school. Riven didn't take his eyes off of Musa. She was lying there, limp in his arms. He could tell she was just as scared and confused as he was and both wondered what was happening, or for that matter, if she was going to be all right.

**Author's Note:** All right, so we have Musa back to normal, but now you know what the backup plan is. Come on, you didn't expect me to not have a failsafe plan in there, Rancor's too smart not to pull a stunt like that.

Now one more thing before the next chapter. We still haven't gotten to the core of the series yet. There's one story coming up that's the key to the entire thing, and you actually got a little bit of a clue in this chapter about it. That clue won't give you very many details about the plot, heck, it'll give you none. But it will start to prepare you for what's coming up very soon. Go back over the chapter and see if you can find it! Stay tuned!


	6. The Counter Spell

Hey everyone. All right, so at the end of last chapter, we had the girls and the boys breaking the brainwashing spell, but then we had Musa being subjected to the after spell Rancor cast as a precaution. Those bad guys think of everything don't they? They just wouldn't be evil villains if they didn't. Happy reading!

**Chapter 6: The Counter Spell**

The Winx Club and the heroes took Musa up to the nurse's office the second they got back to Alfea, but even the nurse couldn't figure out why Musa's heart was acting the way it was. Naturally, none were happy to hear that. The girls were all panic-stricken and Riven was so angry at Rancor for what he'd done to Musa, everyone thought he was going to burst a blood vessel.

"I don't know what to tell you," said Nurse Ophelia sadly.

"I do," said Ms. Faragonda, coming in the doorway. "I was watching Rancor through that mirror I showed you after you left. He put an after spell on that curse, in case it was ever broken."

"What kind of after spell?" asked Tecna.

"Apparently, he came up with a way to get Musa's powers even if the spell was broken," said Ms. Faragonda. "Dark magic will continue to take over them, getting stronger every second. You'll be feeling like this for several hours Musa, until…until your heart won't be able to take it anymore."

"You mean, she'll…" started Layla, but trailed off.

Ms. Faragonda nodded. She continued, "after that, her powers will go straight to Rancor, no matter who else is there."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Bloom.

"I looked through my old spell books, and I believe there is a way for you girls to use your Charmix to counter the spell, but it will take a lot of energy and we haven't gotten that far in your Charmix training yet."

"It's our only chance then," said Flora. "What do we have to do?"

"Nirvana, do you have your Charmix?" asked Ms. Faragonda.

"I got it a few weeks before Paritho stole my powers," replied Nirvana.

"All right then," said Ms. Faragonda. "All you girls will have to power up your Charmix, including you Musa. That will be quite risky because the more you use your powers, the quicker the spell will work. Then the rest of you will have to concentrate and give your powers to Musa. It will help her fight the spell. You boys will have to help too. Take your girlfriends hands and give them your energy to help Musa."

"Okay girls, let's try it," said Bloom. She, Stella, Flora, Guinevere, Nirvana, Tecna and Layla all powered up their Charmix. Nirvana's was a pair of gold angel's wings that appeared in the center of her red tank top and around her waist appeared a gold bag. With a little hesitation, Musa used hers as well and she cried out in pain, flopping back down on the bed.

"Musa," said Riven, lifting her head up. "Are you all right?"

"Does it look like I'm all right?" she asked him indignantly.

"The spell is progressing more quickly than we thought," said Tecna, doing a quick analysis with her computer. "Much more quickly. She only has a few minutes before all her magic reverts back to Rancor."

"All right girls, you ready?" asked Bloom. They all nodded. They closed their eyes and concentrated all their energy into one large convergence spell. Suddenly, large beams of light flowed from every single Charmix, each one the color of its particular girl, and began to stream into Musa. For a minute, it looked like it was working, for Musa stopped crying for a moment. But they could tell after a moment that it was going to take more than what they were giving.

"Put all your power into it!" said Layla. The more the girls focused, the larger and stronger the beams became. Bloom, Stella, Tecna, Layla and Flora all reached for their boyfriend's hands and found them. They felt the boy's energy giving them more strength and the spell became even more powerful. But it still wasn't enough. Musa had fallen unconscious.

"Musa, wake up!" yelled Riven, holding her in his arms.

"This isn't working!" yelled Stella.

"It will, it has to," said Flora.

"Well, we'd better come up with a way to make this spell stronger soon," said Guinevere. "We're almost out of Winx."

"What else can we do?" asked Nirvana.

"You all have to help Musa in some way to overcome this," said Ms. Faragonda. "That means you too Riven."

Riven knew what he had to do. He took her hand in his, closed his eyes and began repeating the same thoughts again and again in his head. He said to himself, "if I can just give her some of my strength, she should be able to beat this thing. Come on Musa, fight it. Fight it so…so I won't lose you. I couldn't bear it if I lost you, you know that. You can win, I know you can. So fight it please, for my sake."

A red glow started to form around Musa, and then all the dark energy inside her spilled out within a second. It collected in a large dark sphere directly above her before dissipating in a second. Musa flopped back on the bed with a small sigh, causing Riven to unconsciously tighten his grip on her. The rest of the girls powered down their Charmix, exhausted from using so much power. Each stood up with the help of her boyfriend, Guinevere and Nirvana were leaning on each other, and they all turned to look at Musa. They watched as she placed a hand on her forehead and slowly opened her eyes.

She groaned and said, "where am I?"

"You're safe at Alfea," said Riven.

"Are you okay Musa?" asked Bloom.

"Aside from a small headache, yeah," replied Musa. The rest of the girls all crowded around her bed, giving her a large group hug. "Okay, okay, chillax," said Musa. She saw Riven, standing a few feet away. He had gotten shoved backward when the girls started crowding around Musa's bed.

"Thank you everyone," she said. "And especially you Riven." He didn't say anything, but just smiled at his girl, glad she was all right.

The boys went back to Red Fountain a few minutes later and the girls all went up to their rooms to celebrate getting Musa back. She was a little disappointed that Riven hadn't yet said, "I love you," and hadn't kissed her, but she knew it wouldn't be too long before he did. She knew she loved him and just hoped that he loved her back.

The girls were soon all asleep except for Layla and Guinevere. Guinevere had found a scroll on her bedside table and she took it up eagerly. It contained the following message.

_Princess Guinevere,_

_There is still no new information concerning the disappearance of _

_your sister Princess Elbereath. All the leads we have managed to _

_find have not led us to her._

_Sincerely yours,_

_The Royal Guard of Rampara_

Guinevere threw the scroll away, disappointment clouding her heart. Her wastepaper basket was already starting to overflow with these letters and she was sick of them. "I'm going to have to do something about this," she thought to herself as she slid into bed.

On the other side of the room, Layla had a lot on her mind as well. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice Guinevere look at her note. She just lay in bed staring at the ceiling, then cast a quick spell which lit up her side of the room only. She grabbed a journal off her bookshelf, opened to the first blank page and began to write. What she didn't know was that Guinevere was still awake and was watching her curiously.

"What's she up to?" she asked herself. About twenty minutes later, Layla put the journal away, put the light out and both girls fell asleep.

------------

"I don't believe it!" yelled Rancor angrily, slamming his fist into the wall of his cave hideout. "How could those pixies break that spell? I thought for sure it was fool proof!"

"Guess you thought wrong," said Icy.

"What are we supposed to do now?" asked Darcy. "I mean those pixies broke the brainwashing spell and the after spell."

"Yeah, looks like you're out of ideas," said Stormy.

"Don't you dare accuse me of being out of ideas!" said Rancor. "I always have a plan. Her powers will be mine, and this time it will be absolutely impossible for her to escape."

"That's what we always think, and then they always escape," said Stormy.

"Yeah, I'm ready for one of our plans to go our way for a change," said Darcy.

"Gather round ladies," said Rancor. "I think you'll like this plan. If I know Ms. Faragonda, she'll have a spell set up over the girl's rooms to protect Musa from me. They'll go off if I go anywhere near Alfea. But I don't know if they'll go off if you're close by."

"What do you want us to do?" asked Icy.

"I want one of you to go to Alfea tonight, while all the girls are asleep," said Rancor. He showed them a piece of paper, and said, "cast this spell on Musa. It will make her lose her memory of every single thing. She won't remember her friends, Alfea, her boyfriend, nothing. She won't remember her realm of origin or even her name."

"So, it'll be easy to manipulate her into doing anything," said Darcy.

"Exactly," said Rancor. "Then I want you to do whatever you can to make sure she walks out of her room and in my direction. I'll be waiting back here. Make sure she gets back to this cave and I'll take it from there."

"That's dastardly," said Darcy.

"That's just plain cruel," said Stormy.

"It's dark and twisted," said Icy. "I love it! Who gets the honor of casting the spell on that stupid pixie?"

"I want to do it," said Stormy. "I've always wanted to control her like a puppet."

"Maybe I should do it, I'm the one who has the mind control powers," said Darcy.

"Why don't you two work together then," said Rancor, handing the piece of paper to Stormy. "Stormy, you cast the spell, and Darcy, you can get her to come this way. I'm going to run through the story I'll tell her with Icy. Don't mess things up, either of you."

"We won't," said Stormy and on that note, they flew out of the cave towards Alfea.

"What exactly are you going to say to the pixie?" asked Icy as she watched them go.

"You'll find out soon enough," replied Rancor. "Come on and listen to my little speech. I want to know if I sound convincing enough."

Stormy and Darcy, meanwhile, were flying hard and fast by this point. When they got there, both were glad to see that everyone was fast asleep. But they couldn't waste time, it was already into the early hours of the morning and the sun would be up soon. Darcy waited in the trees near the girl's room while Stormy flew up to the window outside Musa and Tecna's room. She cast a quick cloaking spell on herself, opened the window, and slipped inside. As quietly as she could, she crept over to Musa's bed, placed her hand on the girl's forehead and whispered, "dark magic enter this girl's mind, and inside, it should find all her past memories and adventures, and to this spell, they will surrender!"

A dark glow seeped from her hands and circled around Musa. She watched as it took over her mind, erasing all her memories of Alfea, the times spent with her friends, of Riven, of everything in her life. After a few seconds, she could tell her work was done and all she had to do was wait until the fairy woke up. She flew out the window and rejoined Darcy in the trees. From where they were, they could clearly see what the fairy was doing inside her room, but unless she was looking hard enough, she wouldn't be able to see them.

"Phase 1 complete," said Stormy, giving Darcy a triumphant look.

"Good, now let me work my magic," said Darcy, her eyes beginning to glow purple.

A second later, Musa jerked awake and at first thought about screaming. She couldn't remember the room she was in, she couldn't recognize the girl who was sleeping across the room, she didn't even know her own name. Not knowing what the heck was going on scared the living daylights out of her.

"Where am I? Who am I?" she asked herself.

Outside, the witches watched as Musa got up out of bed and walked to her window. Stormy looked over at Darcy, who was moving her hands and fingers in intricate patterns in the air, her eyes still a purple color. Her face was twisted into an expression of intense concentration, and a grin broke out on her face as she saw Musa begin to walk towards the entrance to the school. The two witches started flying back to the cave, casting a spell to make Musa follow them. Musa walked forward, not knowing where she was going or why she was even walking in that direction. After a little while, she reached a small cave and not knowing any better, she walked inside.

-----------

By this time, it was a little after sunrise and the light from the open window was starting to wake up Tecna.

"Musa, can you close those drapes please?" she asked. But there was no response. Still half asleep, Tecna continued, "Musa, you can't possibly sleep with that light either. Can you please draw the curtain?" But there was still no response. Tecna sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looked over at Musa's bed and gasped. The music fairy was gone and there was no trace of her anywhere. "Oh no!" said Tecna. She ran to Bloom and Flora's room shouting, "everyone, wake up!"

Bloom looked over at her clock and said groggily, "Tecna, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I do know and at the moment, I don't really care," said Tecna impatiently. "What I do care about is that Musa is missing. She snuck out sometime during the night!"

"What?!" said Bloom and Flora together, both jerking awake.

"What's going on?" asked Layla, as she, Guinevere and Nirvana walked into the room.

"What's with all the noise?" asked Stella. "I need my beauty sleep."

"Sorry to disturb you Stella but this is urgent," said Tecna. "Musa's not here, she must have snuck out in the early hours of the morning."

"Where could she have gone?" asked Guinevere.

"Back into Rancor's hands that's where," said Layla. "He must have put another spell on her, while we were all asleep."

"We have to find her!" said Stella. "Before she walks back into Rancor's grasp."

"Shouldn't we call the boys?" asked Flora.

"There isn't time Flora," said Nirvana. "Let's just go!" All the girls transformed and using a few tracking spells, flew in the direction Musa had gone in. All hoped they weren't too late.

**Author's Note:** All right, so we have Musa under a spell and about to walk right into Rancor's hands. This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? Wait until you hear the story he tells her in the next chapter. This is going to sound really unlike him, but after awhile, he'll be back to himself.

Now, who's for a little contest? I'm afraid I don't have any prizes, but I want to see if you guys spotted this. There were two strange things that occurred in the group this time. One had to do with one of the guys and is the more obvious one. The second had to do with one of the girls and it was more subtle. So what were the two unusual things with our favorite team? I can't wait to see what kind of guesses I get.

One more thing guys, if I don't post back in awhile, it's because finals are coming up, and I'm going to be studying my head off for the next two weeks. But I'll post as often as I can, I promise! Stay tuned!


	7. Rancor's Story

**Read this before you read this chapter: **Hey everyone. All right, so I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Out of the reviews I got for the last chapter, not a single person guessed what the two strange things about the group were. I was really looking forward to some of the guesses. All right, but I'll give you one more chance. Read this chapter and then reread the last one, and when you review either one, take a guess as to what the two strange things were. The first one had to do with one of the guys, and it is the more obvious one. The second had to do with one of the girls and it was the much more subtle one. And if you guess the one about the girl correctly, not only are you radically smart, but you have found a very important clue that's going to come up in the next story of the series. Once I get several guesses I will reveal what they are in the starting author's note of the next chapter.

All right, so when we left off, we had Musa under some kind of amnesia spell. That sounds creepy, doesn't it? She's already entered a cave, I think you guys know who's in it, so what's going to happen when she finds him? Happy reading!

**Chapter 7: Rancor's Story**

Musa walked deeper and deeper into the cave, wondering where she was and what she was doing there. A shiver ran down her spine and she rubbed her arms to try and warm up. She didn't know what, but something about that place gave her a bad feeling. But since she had nowhere else to go, she decided it was better if she just kept going in the same direction. She stopped as she heard the sound of someone sniffling, but then moved forward to see who it was. After a few minutes, she saw someone sitting on the other side of the cave, his face in his hands. She hesitated a moment, then walked over and said, "are you all right?"

The man looked up and he let out a large gasp. For a moment, his face held a look of deep shock before breaking into a wide, very relieved smile.

"Musa," he said. "Thank goodness! I've been so worried about you." He stood up and hugged her before she could say anything.

"I don't want to sound rude here but who are you?" asked Musa.

"What?" he asked, pulling away from her and taking her face in his hands, which made her back away a bit. His ice cold fingers had felt very strange against her skin. "You don't remember me?" he asked her. Musa shook her head and a very troubled look came on his face.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember anything," said Musa.

"Anything at all?"

"No, can you tell me everything I need to know?"

"Of course, sit down, I'll explain everything."

Musa sat down against the cave wall, even though her instincts told her to turn tail and run. Something about this man gave her an abiding sense of fear, but she couldn't figure out what was causing it. She had no choice however but to listen as he began to speak.

First of all Musa, my name is Rancor and you're my sister. We grew up here in Magix together and we used to come to this very cave to play. It was our secret hideaway. Then you started at the Alfea School for Fairies and I started at Red Fountain School for Heroes. You weren't very happy however, with your friends, with your boyfriend. He saw other girls behind your back. I told you multiple times to dump him, but you never listened to me, always saying there was the possibility that he could change. Then, we were supposed to have dinner two nights ago, just the two of us, but you didn't come. No one knew where you were and I assumed the worst. I'm so glad to find out you're all right. Someone must have cast a spell on you to make you lose all your memories. I'll find out who did that and I'll take this spell off you, I promise."

A few feet away, the witches were hiding in a side cave, listening to everything Rancor and Musa said. It took every ounce of self-control they had not to burst out laughing.

"Man, Rancor's a good actor," whispered Darcy.

"Yeah, I almost want to believe him," said Icy.

"Be quiet, I want to hear what's happening," said Stormy.

"Now Musa," continued Rancor. "Do you remember anything about the night you disappeared? Did anyone kidnap you? Were you attacked?"

"No," said Musa. "I told you I don't remember anything...Rancor, was it?"

"Yes," said Rancor. "I was afraid that whoever it was would try to trick you and steal your powers, but I can sense that you still have them. That's both good and bad."

"Why?" asked Musa.

"It's good that whoever it was didn't get your powers, but it's bad because there is a problem with your powers," said Rancor. "You had told me over the phone that you were experiencing some problems with them, that you couldn't cast even the simplest spells without having something backfire on you. I was beginning to get very concerned and suggested to help you. You promised me you would entrust them to me so I could handle them and find out what was wrong with them?"

"I did?" asked Musa.

"Yes, you did. You knew I was the only one you could trust, so you asked me to find out what was wrong with them. We were supposed to have dinner to discuss it further, but then you disappeared. I think someone kidnapped you in order to get a hold of your powers. You must have escaped thank goodness."

"I woke up earlier and I found myself in a room with another girl across the room," said Musa and she went on to describe her room at the fairy school. "I have no idea what that place was."

"It sounds as though you made it back to Alfea, but I can't understand why you're friends didn't call me, they knew how worried I was," said Rancor. In the side passage, the witches had to put up a sound barrier so no one would hear them laughing. They were laughing so hard, they were doubled up, rolling on the floor, gasping for breath.

"Now Musa, since you aren't in full possession of your mind at the moment, will you let me have your powers now? It wouldn't be a good idea for you to have them and not remember how to use them. But if you wish to keep them, I understand. But what do you think?"

Musa took a minute to think about it. She still had an instinct that was telling her to bolt, but she had no reason to believe that what he was saying wasn't true. She looked at him and couldn't find any indication that he was lying.

"You're right Rancor," she said. "You should have them. Just tell me what I need to do to give them to you."

--------------

While Musa and Rancor were talking of her powers, the girls had almost reached the cave.

"I don't understand," said Flora. "How could Musa have just left? She's way too conscientious, she wouldn't go waltzing right into danger."

"Maybe Rancor did something to her," said Layla.

"If he had come anywhere near Alfea, I would definitely have known about it," said Tecna. "I set up my computers and cast some spells so that a warning would go off if he came within ten meters of the school. And my systems never fail, they would have alerted me."

"Unless he had one of the witches get Musa for him," said Bloom.

"You're smarter than you look Bloom," said Icy, flying up out of the cave.

"But guess what, your little pixie friend isn't going anywhere until Rancor is through with her," said Stormy.

"Now isn't the time to get us riled up," said Guinevere. "Get out of the way!"

"Not a chance pixie," said Darcy.

"Don't call us pixies!" yelled Guinevere. "Diamond Storm!"

"Heaven's Charm!" yelled Nirvana.

"Layla, we'll get the witches out of the way," said Bloom. "You go and look for Musa!"

"Right!" yelled Layla. She saw Darcy flying towards her. "Aquarius Current!"

"Venus Vine Wrap!"

With Flora restraining the witches with her vines, the path to the cave was clear. Layla flew inside at top speed, hoping against hope she wasn't too late. Wind whipped her face, cold air from the cave blew against her, trying to push her back, but it did no good. She forced her wings to carry her through the caverns to find Musa, she had to find her best friend. But she didn't know if she would able to get there in time.

------------

"That's right Musa," said Rancor. "Now just concentrate and all your power will be mine."

"Here goes nothing," said Musa. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her heart, as though something inside was telling her that this wasn't the right thing to do. Something was telling her that if she did this, it would hurt her friends and her boyfriend. She wondered what was giving her this feeling and tried to ignore it, for she didn't remember her friends and didn't even know who her boyfriend was.

"Musa," said Rancor. "What are you waiting for?"

"Sorry," said Musa. She concentrated her energies and a beam of light shot out of her heart and into Rancor's hands. It only took a few minutes to get it all. He started laughing maliciously, a cold, triumphant laugh. Musa fell to the ground unconscious, as Rancor stood over, basking in his newfound power.

"Finally, her power is all mine," said Rancor. "It hasn't reached its peak yet. But that's all right. It will in a matter of days and then I'll rule all the realms!"

"Tidal Wave!" Rancor's laugher stopped as he was swept up against the wall by the current. Layla flew as fast as she could towards them, attacking Rancor with everything she had. "Give her back her magic!"

"That's not going to happen," said Rancor, using one of Musa's attacks on Layla. The water fairy was blasted against the back wall. Rancor then started to power up even more. Layla, not having her full powers yet, decided the best thing to do was get out of there as fast as humanly possible. She grabbed Musa and flew out of the cave. Rancor flew after her, firing at her. She was exhausted, but she forced her wings to carry them both as quickly as they could. Finally, Layla reached the mouth of the cave and was able to rejoin the girls in the air.

"We have to get out of here and back to Alfea!" she yelled. "Rancor's too strong."

"Okay, but we need a distraction, or else we'll never get out of here!" yelled Bloom.

"Leave it to me!" yelled Stella. "Sun Blast!" She used her staff to use the sun's rays to focus and strengthen her attack. It went soaring towards the witches, momentarily blinding them and Rancor. But all knew that it wouldn't last for more than a few minutes.

"Let's get out of here!" yelled Flora.

The girls flew as fast as their wings could carry them, soon leaving Rancor and the witches behind. By the time the four of them managed to regain their vision, the Winx girls were long gone. The three witches wanted to go after them, but Rancor held them back. He decided that it was better to let the girls wallow in fear and uncertainty before he went after them. Since he had Musa's powers, it would allow him to get used to his new found power and to learn how to use it and control it.

"We have to go after them," said Stormy. "We have to get rid of Musa, so she can't get her powers back."

"Yeah, what happens if she regains them?" asked Darcy. "All that hard work and planning of yours will have been for nothing."

"Trust us, that isn't exactly an enjoyable feeling," said Icy.

"Let them escape," said Rancor. "It'll only give me more time to strengthen this amazing power."

--------------

When the girls reached Alfea, they immediately powered down their Winx and put Musa back in her bed. None knew what to think. They weren't sure what had caused Musa to be so foolish as to walk straight into Rancor's hands and just hand over her magic. Obviously something had happened to her, but they didn't know what would cause such a strong-willed fairy to fall into a trap so easily. After a few minutes, the music fairy woke up and when she did, she remembered everything about her life, except for what had just occurred.

"What happened?" she asked. "What happened guys?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," said Bloom.

"The last thing I remember is suddenly having amnesia," said Musa. "I couldn't remember who I was, where I was, anything at all about my life."

"How could that…" began Guinevere, but before they could say another word, they heard the sound of levabikes being parked outside and a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Layla quickly cast a spell on Musa, so she was changed out of her pajamas and into her usual one strap, red top and jeans. Flora opened the door and the boy's walked in.

"Where's Musa?" asked Riven.

"Here I am," she said, as she sat up on her bed.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Stella.

"Riven made us come," said Sky. "He said he had a feeling in his heart that Musa was in trouble and we had to come see if we could do anything to help."

"Well, you're a little late," said Guinevere.

"What do you mean?" asked Riven.

"Rancor just succeeded in stealing Musa's powers," said Nirvana.

"What?" asked all the boys together.

"Musa, that can't be true," said Riven.

"I'm sorry Riven, it is," said Musa.

"So come on Musa, tell us what happened," said Tecna. "You gave us such a fright when we found you out of bed this morning."

"I woke up in the middle of the night," said Musa. "And I couldn't remember a thing, who I was, where I was. It was so freaky. I thought about screaming for a few minutes. But then, I started walking towards Rancor's cave. I don't know what prompted me there, must have been some kind of spell. Anyway, I found him inside and he started telling me some story about me being his sister and he was worried sick because I had gone missing a couple days ago and I actually bought it. Then he tricked me into handing over my powers. I can't believe I was that stupid!"

"It's not your fault Musa, it was just a spell," said Flora.

"It is my fault Flora," said Musa. "I let Rancor trick me."

"No, it's our fault," said Bloom. "We should have been keeping a closer eye on you."

"Stop arguing, it's not getting us anywhere," said Guinevere. "What do we do now?"

"We have to get Musa's power back, that's what," said Riven.

"And how do you propose we get my powers back?" asked Musa. Riven just kept silent, not having an answer to that question. "That's what I thought," said Musa. "It's hopeless."

"Don't say that," said Nirvana. "There's no such thing as something being hopeless."

"Yes there is," said Musa.

"No there is not," argued Nirvana. "Seeing a power-hungry monarch rule over your realm when you're the one who's supposed to be ruling it, and not being able to do anything to stop him, that's a hopeless situation. But you have the chance of regaining your powers, and you have all of us here to help you. We will get Rancor for this, I know we will."

"As much as I want to believe that Nirvana, it doesn't sound that plausible considering I was foolish enough to hand Rancor my powers." Musa buried her face in her hands and sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"Musa, I'm not going to stand here and hear you say any of that," said Riven. "We'll get your powers back, I promise."

"Just like you promised you'd protect me?" asked Musa scornfully. None of them could find anything to say to this. "I need to be alone. I want to think." She dashed out of the room before any of the others had time to stop her, and once she was out the door, she started running as fast as she could. She ran through the halls, sprinted across the quad and into the forest. She ran deep through several groves of trees until she couldn't run anymore. She reached a clearing and broke down in front of a large tree, crying as though she'd never cried before.

"I can't believe it," she said. "How could I let Rancor walk in and steal my magic?"

"It was quite easy to be honest," said a voice a few feet above her. Musa gasped as she realized who that voice belonged to. She looked up and saw Rancor hovering a few feet above her head, just itching to test his new powers on her.

**Author's Note:** All right, so we have Musa without her powers and we have Rancor cornering her and ready to use them against her, not good. But next chapter, we will have a possible solution to all this, which will just show that it pays to have Nirvana around. If you paid attention in the last story about Tecna and Paritho, you'd remember that Nirvana used a certain little spell to regain her powers from him. You'll find out more about that spell in the next chapter. It's going to pay even more much later in the series, because Nirvana has a bunch of spell books that a queen from another realm gave her, full of old, archaic spells that come in handy several times. I'm glad I came up with her as a character. Stay tuned!


	8. The Power Collection Spell

**Read this before you read this chapter: **Hey everyone. All right, so I said that in the author's note for this chapter, I would tell you the two things that were different about our favorite group of fairies and heroes. Blosiom, you were right when you said that the one was about Riven. It was the fact that he had stepped away from his tough guy exterior and was being nice and sweet to Musa. He was actually saying kind and comforting things to break that spell that was affecting her heart, which he doesn't do very often. I've turned him into kind of a nice guy in this story, but he'll be back to his grumpy and grouchy self later on.

Okay, the second thing had to do with Layla. It was the fact that she was writing in a journal, which she doesn't do very often either. None of the girls really strike me as journal types, except maybe for Bloom, she could probably use a journal every now and then. The only person to guess that was –.princess- but you didn't get the real purpose of the journal. That will be revealed in the next story. You guys are going to love that one. Good guesses everyone.

All right, so when we left off, Rancor had stolen Musa's powers and had cornered her with him. Man, it's just one bad thing after another in this story, isn't it? So, will she get them back or will he crush her into the dust? Happy reading!

**Chapter 8: The Power Collection Spell**

Musa backed away from her foe, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get very far, particularly if the witches were close by. She suddenly wished she hadn't dashed out of Alfea like that, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

"Hello Musa," said Rancor. "I know you're upset, but I couldn't help but come and have a word with you. And I had hoped you would like to see how accustomed I have become to your powers. It's amazing that one who hates music as much as I do can control the power of the Harmonic Nebula. And when the power reaches its peak, I will be more powerful than I have ever been before. Too bad you won't be alive to see that day."

"Yes I will," yelled Musa. "I want my powers back! Give them to me!"

"Sorry, not going to happen," said Rancor. "Sound Blast!"

Musa screamed as she jumped out of the way of the attack.

"I love hearing a pixie scream," said Icy, appearing behind Musa.

"Yeah, it makes me want to keep attacking," said Darcy, appearing on Musa's right.

"It makes me want to play a little game of witch cat and pixie mouse," said Stormy, appearing on Musa's left.

Rancor drifted right in front of Musa, so she was surrounded on all sides. She couldn't make a move without getting blasted by at least one of them. Rancor said, "so Musa, you have a choice. 1) You can surrender and let us destroy you quickly or 2) you can run and we'll destroy you slowly. Which would you prefer?"

"Is there a choice where I don't get destroyed at all?" asked Musa.

"No," said Rancor, shaking his head. "That's what I like about these options."

Musa thought quickly and decided that if she could make it to the nearest clump of trees, she could dart in between them and keep out of sight until she got back to Alfea. She noticed that they were all hovering a few feet off the ground, so if she rolled under their feet, she should be able to reach the trees, but it would be a long shot. She ducked under them and ran as fast as she could towards the trees. But Rancor wasn't one to give up and fired one of her own attacks at her. She fell to the ground, her leg hurting from where the spell had hit her. She tried to get up but her leg wouldn't support her. She was trapped.

"Crafty Musa," said Rancor, drifting over to her. "But you can't escape me. No one can escape me. Now are you ready to meet your end?"

"Leave me alone," she pleaded with him. "Please leave me alone."

"Sorry Musa," said Rancor. "Sound Blast!"

Musa shut her eyes tight, preparing for the blast to hit her. But she never felt it. Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms grab her and push her out of the way of the attack. She opened her eyes and found Riven bending over her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah thanks," she said.

"Musa!" The rest of the girls and the heroes appeared in the clearing, ready to fight Rancor at all costs. Riven helped Musa up and stood in front of her, in case Rancor attacked again.

"I should have known you'd crash the party sooner or later," said Rancor.

"Let us take care of the pixies and their boy toys," said Icy. "You can take care of Musa."

"Agreed," said Rancor.

"You know, you pixies need to learn to stop meddling in things that don't concern you," said Darcy.

"If it involves our friends, it does concern us," said Bloom.

"Enough chit-chat, let's get them," said Guinevere. "Diamond Storm!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

"Tidal Wave!"

"Sun Blast!"

But the witches were ready for them. They had gotten so used to the girls attacks, they knew spells on how to deflect them and absorb them. The girls soon realized that they needed a new plan. But trying to think of one and fight at the same time had them somewhat at a disadvantage. The witches were already putting their own attack plan into action.

"Psycho Cyclone!"

"Mesmerizer!"

"Ice Crystal Barrage!"

"We need to come up with a new strategy!" yelled Tecna. "If we don't, we're doomed!"

"We're doomed anyway!" yelled Guinevere, dodging another of the witch's attacks.

Meanwhile, Riven was trying his best to keep Rancor away from Musa.

"There's no sense in trying to protect her," said Rancor. "She has to go. I can't keep her around, there's the risk she could steal her power's back. And don't you think she's a bit high-strung?"

"That's enough!" said Riven angrily. He ran at Rancor with his sword and started attacking with everything he had. But Rancor was too powerful. "Musa!" yelled Riven. "Get out of here and get someplace safe until we can get your powers back!"

Musa ran for cover in the trees, but her leg was still hurting and she hit the ground hard, nowhere near a safe place. All she could do was look up and watch her boyfriend fight a losing battle. Rancor started towards her, ready to get rid of her once and for all, but Riven was determined not to let him near her. He stood in front of Musa again and kept attacking.

"Aren't you getting the least bit tired?" asked Rancor. "You know you can't win."

"Yes I can!" said Riven. But Rancor had decided he'd had enough.

"Relitasa," he said. A purple ball of light shot out of his hands and hit Riven square in the chest. He collapsed, clutching his chest, groaning in pain.

"Riven, no!" yelled Musa, which caught the attention of the rest of the group and the witches as the fighting stopped. The witches smiled in triumph while the girls looked on in shock and the boys shook in anger.

"Sorry about him," said Rancor. "But something had to be done!"

"How could you?" asked Musa angrily.

"Just like that." He walked towards her but Bloom and Flora stopped him.

"Dragon Blast!"

"Venus Vine Wrap!"

The vines wrapped around Rancor, but he broke free of them easily. He soared above the girl's heads and said "relitasa" again. But the girls were ready for him. They were able to dodge it and send a counterattack.

"You'll pay for this Rancor!" shouted Bloom. "Dragon Blast!"

"Hmm," said Layla in a mocking way. "What's the best way to treat someone after they've been burned with fire? Oh right. Ocean Blast!" Cold water shot towards Rancor and he was sent to the ground by the sheer force of the wave. He got up, panting for breath as he looked up at the girls.

"You win this time girls," he said. "But I'll be back, I can promise you that." He and the witches disappeared in a flash.

The girls all ran over to Musa to see if she was all right. But she wasn't the least bit concerned about herself and it wasn't hard to see why. Even though she couldn't walk, she was trying to make her way over to her fallen boyfriend.

"Musa, are you okay?" asked Layla, as she quickly healed Musa's leg.

"I'm fine, but how's Riven?" asked Musa, getting to her feet. The rest of the boys were gathered around him. He was lying on the ground, the wound on his chest hurting him badly.

"We have to get him back to Red Fountain," said Helia. "The nurse can help him."

"I don't think we have time," said Timmy. "This injury's pretty bad."

"Is there something we can do now?" asked Bloom.

"Not unless you girls know a really quick healing spell," said Sky.

"There is that one we learned in Palladium's class last year," said Flora. "Try it Musa."

"Uh, have you forgotten that I don't have any magic right now? Since Rancor has my powers, I can't even cast a simple spell." replied Musa. "Besides, every time I do the spell, it just makes things worse. It'd be way better if one of you tried it."

"Here," said Bloom. She created a little ball of energy in her hands and held it out to her friend. "Take some of my magic and cast the spell yourself. We know you can do it Musa."

"Just try it," said Tecna.

"Yeah, we'll help if something goes wrong, but say the spell. Riven doesn't have much time left," said Layla.

"Okay," said Musa, but they could tell she was worried that she wouldn't be able to do it. She took a deep breath, took the ball of energy from Bloom and said, "sangras helaras."

At first, it didn't look like anything had happened, and then they saw that the wound on Riven's chest was healing very slowly, too slowly. The rest of the girls looked at each other and decided both Musa and Riven needed their help. If they didn't do something, Musa would run out of energy and Riven wouldn't make it and they all knew that Musa's heart wouldn't recover if Riven didn't. They each concentrated their powers and suddenly Musa felt an increase in her power. The wound started healing much more quickly and within a few seconds, Riven was fully healed. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Riven, are you all right?" asked Musa, who was having trouble holding herself up now that the spell was complete. It was more difficult than she'd imagined, particularly since she hadn't been able to back the spell up with her own powers.

"What happened?" he asked, as he tried to sit up. "I feel like I've been run over by a squad of levabikes."

"Rancor hit you with some kind of energy blast," said Brandon. "If it hadn't been for Musa, you wouldn't be talking to us right now."

"Really?" he asked. Musa nodded and looked away so he wouldn't see her blushing.

"Come on, we need to get the girls back to Alfea," said Helia. "We have to come up with a new plan."

They all started back to the fairy school, the girls leaning on their boyfriends out of both fatigue and the need for moral support. Riven and Musa hung back a little, so they could talk in private.

"I just wanted to say thanks," he said and she noted that he was not looking directly at her.

"For what?" she asked, starting to blush again.

"For helping me out back there," he said. "I feel like such a chump, I try to save you and you end up saving me."

"Hey, you saved me from that spell Rancor put on me," said Musa. "Thank you Riven." She kissed him on the cheek and darted ahead of him to catch up with the others. He stood still for a few seconds, still getting over the fact that she'd kissed him. But he caught up with the rest of the group easily, each of them thinking they knew why he was blushing so profusely.

After a few more minutes, they were back in the girl's dorm rooms, trying to come up with more plans. Tecna made them some hot chocolate and they sipped it while brainstorming new ideas.

"Is there some way we can trick him into giving back Musa's powers?" asked Sky.

"I doubt it," said Guinevere. "He's too clever to fall for any kind of trick." She looked at Musa apologetically, but Musa just nodded at her to say that she was right. But all the same, Guinevere couldn't help but think to herself, "I really have to stop being so darn pessimistic."

"Nirvana," said Bloom, remembering something from their final battle against Paritho. "When we were all on Angelicas, what was that spell you used to get your powers back from Paritho?"

"Powerus colletta, the power collection spell," said Nirvana. "Good idea Bloom, I hadn't thought of that. It's a spell that can steal anyone's powers in a matter of seconds."

"So, why hasn't Rancor used it instead of making us go through all this rigmarole?" asked Layla. "It would have been a heck of a lot simpler on all of us, not just him."

"That's the beauty of it," said Nirvana. "Musa will be able to use it on him, but he can't use it on her. Neither could Paritho, that's why he didn't use it on Tecna."

"Uh, you kind of lost me there," said Stella, and everyone else nodded.

Nirvana sighed and said, "okay, here's the story in a nutshell. People used to go around and use that spell to gain more power all the time. At least once a day, you would see someone doing it. Many people, usually princesses, used it to gain the power of their realm. But more often than not, villains were using it to steal other's powers. About…oh how long has it been? Ok, about 20 years ago, this huge spell was cast that restricted its use. It only permitted people to use the spell if they fell under one of two categories: 1) if they were about to become king or queen and needed the power to control their dominion or 2) they were taking it back if someone had stolen it. Either way nowadays it can only be used if you're taking power that's rightfully yours in the first place."

"And what happens if they don't fit those requirements?" asked Flora.

"I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to," said Nirvana. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Now we just need to come up with a plan, so Musa can use the spell," said Stella.

They all thought for a few minutes and then Layla said, "okay, I've got it. We'll set a trap, but Musa, you'd have to act as bait."

"I would?" asked Musa apprehensively.

"Uh huh," said Layla. "All you'd have to do is stand in a clearing somewhere and say, 'Rancor, I'm surrendering,' or something like that. Just say anything to make him come out."

"I wouldn't have to say anything, he always turns up," said Musa.

"Whatever," continued Layla. "Listen, we'll be hiding nearby, Charmix powered up and ready to fight. We'll get him subdued for you and you can cast the spell."

"What about Icy, Darcy and Stormy?" asked Flora.

"I can do what I did yesterday," said Nirvana, referring to when she'd used beams of light to tie them up.

"What if something goes wrong?" asked Brandon. "9 times out of 10, something goes wrong."

"We'll just have to play it by ear," said Layla.

"I don't know," said Riven. "It sounds too risky."

"Come on Riven, since when do you turn down a fight?" asked Sky. Riven just gave him a look that said, "you'll pay for that."

"Hmm," said Guinevere. "Let's see, chances of success are slim, defeat absolutely certain, what the heck are we waiting for?"

**Author's Note:** See, I told you it pays to have Nirvana around. She knows the spell that can get Musa back her powers and the situation in which it can be used. One good thing about Nirvana is that she knows a lot about ancient spells, having spent most of her life studying them. She tends to use them more often instead of the more recent spells that the girls all use. Trust me when I say this knowledge of hers is going to come in handy later on. See you in the next chapter!


	9. Love Conquers All

Hey everyone. All right, so when we left off, the gang had a plan to defeat Rancor, but none were sure if it was going to work. It have to admit it was a very flimsy plan, but it works for this story, so I ran with it. What's going to happen? Will the plan work or will they all be defeated? Happy reading!

**Chapter 9: Love Conquers All**

After spending an hour or so deciding on a plan, the group decided to go to a part of the forest a good distance away from Alfea. Flora told them where there was a clearing that would give them plenty of room to fight in, but she also silently chose that place so they wouldn't do quite so much harm to the plant life. They made their way to this area, each with a varying degree of nervousness on his or her face. None were more nervous than Riven and Musa. Riven pretended like he didn't care what happened as usual, but the fact that he kept sneaking side glances at Musa, just to make sure she was still there, gave him away completely.

"I can't let her get hurt," he kept repeating to himself. He was going over most of his battle training and strategy lessons from Red Fountain, trying to figure out what moves would work best against Rancor. He wasn't sure any of them would, considering what Rancor had done to him during the last fight. Musa was thinking of that very occurrence as she sat next to him.

"If any of my friends get hurt trying to protect me, I'll never forgive myself," she said silently. "I can't let Riven get hurt again, it was a really close call last time. I have to get my powers back, I just have to."

By the time they reached the battleground, all of them had run through the plan in their heads at least ten times to make sure they understood it. Musa would stand out in the clearing to lure Rancor out of hiding. The rest of the group would be hiding behind some nearby trees. If the witches were there, Nirvana would subdue them as she had previously by trapping them in a sphere of light. Helia was ready to lasso Rancor with his web glove so the girls could have a better chance of fighting, while the boys had their weapons ready when the girls managed to bring him down.

"Ready?" asked Bloom. They all nodded. All of them except for Musa quickly ducked behind some trees or bushes, making sure they had a clear view of the area around them. None saw anything or anyone out of the ordinary as they arrived, but they were sure that Rancor was nearby. As she took her place, Guinevere got a funny feeling in her heart. There was one remnant of the curse that had been on her, a very useful remnant in that she could sense when there was evil about.

"Who's hunting whom?" she asked herself. She couldn't ignore the gnawing doubt in her mind of the possible success of this plan. She didn't know why, but she knew Rancor was already there and was setting a trap for them, as opposed to the other way around. But if she told the others, they'd either say she was crazy or that she was imagining things, or suggest that they come up with a new plan, which was out of the question.

All the same, she raised her hand to the necklace around her neck and prayed to her ancestor, "please let everything turn out all right."

It was time to act. Musa took a deep breath, walked onto the path and said, "here I am, Rancor. I'm surrendering!"

A large blast came from behind her, but she heard it whizzing through the air, and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. Rancor drifted to the ground a few feet away from her and said, "so you've finally seen reason, have you? You've decided to give up?"

"It's about time," said Icy, appearing behind him. Darcy and Stormy appeared next to her.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired of chasing you around," said Darcy.

"Let's just get rid of her now and we don't have to worry about her or her dumb music again," said Stormy. Riven almost attacked out of anger but Jason held him back whispering, "remember the plan."

Layla nodded at Nirvana and the fairy of angels started to fly towards the witches and Rancor. Luckily, they all had their backs to the trees where the rest of the group was hiding. She was almost there when Darcy whirled around and yelled, "Mesmerizer!" Nirvana shrieked, dodging the attack but just barely.

Rancor turned around and saw the girl floating in the air behind him. "Well, well, well, so we have a little attack planned, eh?"

"So much for the plan," said Riven and he jumped out of hiding to protect Musa. The rest of the group ran, or in the fairies case flew out of hiding and started attacking the witches and Rancor. The girls attacked with everything they had, but the witches were ready for them.

"Do you pixies really think you can defeat us?" asked Icy.

"We've done it before, we can do it again," said Bloom.

"Not this time," said Stormy. "We have the music pixies powers and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Ah but there is," said Tecna. "And we'll find some way to make this plan work."

"Just give up," said Darcy. "There's no way you can win."

"I've had enough of talking," said Guinevere. "Diamond Storm!"

"Guinevere, no!" yelled Flora. But she was too late. Her cousin had already flown towards the witches, using her strongest attacks, unleashing the power of Rampara on them. The witches, still not used to the immense power of that realm, fell back.

"Tecna, Flora, Guinevere, Nirvana, use all your power on the witches!" yelled Bloom.

They didn't need telling twice. The four girls let loose all of their power, giving the witches everything they had. The three witches went flying backwards, careening towards several trees nearby. They hit them hard, each one getting knocked out.

Just as a precaution, Nirvana said, "Angel's Light!" and a sphere of bright, pink light surrounded the witches, imprisoning them just as it had last time.

There was only Rancor left to defeat. Bloom, Layla and Stella had been holding their own against him, but without their full power, they weren't doing much damage. Even as powerful a source as the Dragonfire was, it wasn't enough. The rest of the girls with magic joined their three friends, but they still had to admit that Rancor was a force to be reckoned with. The boys were all standing in between Musa and Rancor, Riven in the center. But Rancor waved his hand and they were all swept aside.

"What is it going to take to get rid of you?" asked Rancor, walking up to Musa, shaking his head in frustration. "What's it going to take to get rid of all of you? You're all like a bunch of bad cockroaches, you just keep turning up."

"Actually, I think that describes you a lot more," said Musa resentfully.

"Get away from her!" yelled Riven, dashing forward, but with a flick of Rancor's hand, he was propelled backwards against a tree. He fell limply to the ground and took several minutes to get back up.

"Riven!" yelled Musa in anguish.

"I've had enough of you hurting my friends Rancor!" yelled Bloom angrily.

"Honestly Bloom, even with the Dragonfire, do you think you can beat me?" asked Rancor.

"If I can use it against Lord Darkar, I can use it against you," she replied fiercely.

But unfortunately, Rancor was a good deal more powerful than Darkar was, and though Bloom tried her hardest, once she was down, she couldn't get back up. With a snap of his fingers, the rest of the fairies and heroes were placed under an immobilization spell. It was now just Rancor and Musa. The poor girl backed away from him, but she didn't get very far.

"I don't know about you Musa, but I've had enough of our little game," said Rancor. "I'm going to destroy you right here, right now, whether you like it or not. If you try to run, it'll just make things all the worse. Not even your worthless boyfriend can help you now."

"If you think I'm going to just give up and let you destroy me, you've got another thought coming pal!"

But she wished she hadn't said anything. Before she could get up to try and run, Rancor had fired a large blast at her and she fell back, clutching her shoulder.

"Musa!" yelled Riven, trying to get to his knees, but because of the spell, he couldn't.

"I can't give up," said Musa. "Powerus…" but Rancor had fired another blast at her before she could say the last word. She couldn't even move without being in pain now. She tried to get up, but couldn't.

"Nice try Musa," said Rancor. "But your time has come." He began waving his arms in different directions while simultaneously chanting a spell. "Cantare manesta retasaca deteria kanatake nesena."

"No, no…" whimpered Musa, but her strength was already leaving her. She could barely see a few feet in front of her, and it was hard for her to even keep her eyes open. She could hear Rancor laughing above her and then, from what seemed far away, she heard someone yelling, "no Musa!" She heard a large blast and Rancor's laughing stopped. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her back, lifting her head up, and Riven's scared face appeared above her.

"Musa, are you okay?" he asked, his voice echoing inside her head.

"Riven, I…I…" But that was all she managed to utter, before she fainted.

"Musa! Musa!" yelled Riven. Layla and Nirvana came running to see if she was all right and he asked them, "what's wrong with her?" Bloom, out of anger, had managed to fight the immobilization spell when she saw what Rancor was doing, and by so doing, its hold over the others broke as well. Riven held her in his eyes arms, for the first time in his life genuinely terrified. Nirvana knelt down next to her also while Layla looked on worriedly. They saw her skin had turned pale and she was breathing very hard.

"You don't want to know what happened the last time I heard someone use that spell," said Nirvana. "It's forbidden. We only have a minute or two before we lose Musa forever."

"Isn't there something we can do to counteract the spell?" asked Layla.

"There is, but…" Nirvana trailed off.

"What but? Just tell me!" said Riven out of both anger and fear.

"Layla, go back to the others and join the fight," said Nirvana hurriedly.

"But…" began Layla.

"Go now!" shouted Nirvana.

Layla flew back to the fight, somewhat reluctantly, while Nirvana turned back to Musa and Riven. He was looking at her anxiously, but she wasn't sure how to tell him what she had to tell him.

"There is one way to break the spell," she informed him. "Just one way. But it'll take a little, what am I saying, a lot of courage on your part Riven."

"Why?" he asked her. "What do I have to do?"

"I think you know what you have you to do," said Nirvana. She flew back to the fight, leaving Riven alone with Musa. He looked at her, unconscious in his arms. It was getting harder for her to breathe and he knew she didn't have much time. He felt her pulse and saw that it was really faint and weak. Then he saw her hand twitching, and realized it was reaching out, as though looking for something: him, his comfort. He took her hand in his and caressed it gently. Nirvana was right; he knew what he had to do. He'd been putting off doing it for a long time, but he couldn't anymore.

"Musa, please wake up," he said to her. "You have to fight this spell, you just have to. If I lost you, I don't know what I'd do. I'm just sorry I haven't been able to protect you, though I promised I would. You're everything to me, the one thing I'm scared of is losing you, so please don't leave me here all alone. I…I…"

He broke off, trying to force himself to say the three words he knew would save her. "Come on Riven," he said angrily to himself. "You know you want to say it, so why are you holding back? Just hurry up and say it!"

He took a deep breath and said, "I love you Musa. I love you more than anything else in this world, so wake up please, for my sake." He raised her head up, leaned down and kissed her. It was the first time he'd ever really kissed her. He pulled back and looked at her worriedly, waiting to see if it had worked.

For a moment, it looked as though nothing had happened. But then he saw the color returning to her skin and she took a deep breath. Inside her head, she whispered, "powerus colletta."

-----------

Rancor laughed maliciously, as the rest of the Winx Club and the heroes lay on the ground in front of him, powerless against him. They had used their strongest attacks on him but none of them were able to so much as phase him.

"I told you," he said gloatingly. "I said you wouldn't be able to defeat me. But no one believes a villain these days. Now just give up and I'll make your demise that much more quick."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but the phrase 'give up' isn't exactly in our vocab!" yelled Stella.

"Silence!" he yelled. He fired a strong power blast at Stella and she fell back, clutching her arm.

"Stella!" yelled Brandon, rushing to her side.

"I should have gotten rid of you weaklings before I went after Musa," continued Rancor. "Then I wouldn't have had to put up with all this frustrating resistance. Well, while I'm here, I might as well take your powers along with Musa's." He raised his hands, then silver glows started to form around all the girls and their powers started draining into him.

"No!" yelled Helia, as he watched Flora's power slowly drain out of her body.

"Stop it!" yelled Sky, powerless as he watched Bloom fight to keep her powers.

But Rancor didn't take notice of anything they said. It looked as though it was the end, but suddenly he shrieked and lost control of his powers. The girls magic came surging back into their bodies and they all wondered what was happening. Another silver blast poured out of his heart and went souring a few feet away. The girls looked behind them and started cheering. Musa had woken up, transformed, and was ready to take on Rancor once and for all.

"How did you do that?" he asked her. "I thought for sure you wouldn't be able to counter that spell."

"I think you should be more worried about what I'm going to do to you!" she yelled. "Sound Blast!"

Rancor shrieked and fell back to the ground. Musa used more and more of her attacks on him. It looked as though she was going to win for a few minutes but he still had power to spare.

"I'm tired of you ruining my plans," he yelled. "Hasata bombarda!"

But Musa absorbed it, something she'd never done before with any spell. She released her full energy into one large attack and it was in that moment that her powers reached their peak. She'd achieved the full power of her realm at last.

"Sound Blast!" she yelled again. Rancor fell to the ground and disappeared, the witches along with him. They all knew he wouldn't be bothering them again for a very long time.

**Author's Note:** It really pays to have Nirvana around if she was able to communicate to Riven how to break that spell! All right, there's going to be one more chapter to this story and then I'll get to work finishing off the first chapter of the next story. Believe me, you won't want to miss it! Stay tuned!


	10. A Moment Like This

Hey everyone. All right, so this is the last chapter in the story about Musa. Rancor is gone and defeated and the girls have nothing to worry about for the moment, but I wanted to end the story on a romantic note. All the stories are going to end like that. Happy reading!

**Chapter 10: A Moment Like This**

Musa watched in triumph as Rancor fell to the ground defeated. But that triumph was very quickly replaced by exhaustion. Never having released so much power before, she felt herself beginning to go limp and weak, and her vision began to darken. She changed back into her regular form and drifted back to the ground, unconscious before she was halfway there. Riven ran forward and caught her before her feet touched the forest floor. When he looked at her and saw she was pale again, panic began to flood through his system, but he did a remarkably good job of hiding it.

"Is she ok?" he asked the girls. No matter how good he was at hiding the worry from the rest of his face, they could all see it in his eyes.

"I think so," said Bloom. "She's just tired. In fact, I think we're all tired."

"She's right," said Flora. "Getting one's full power is a lot more exhausting than it appears to be."

They travelled back to Alfea in silence, every one of them too tired to speak, using what stamina they had left to keep themselves upright. The boys dropped the girls off in the quad and headed back to Red Fountain; every single one of them, fairy and hero, was asleep in just a few minutes.

The next morning, all the girls were up bright and early, though it had been their intention to sleep in. They all just stayed in bed most of the morning, reading, daydreaming and in Stella's case, reorganizing her closet with a wave of her hand. Musa was the first up. She got dressed and said, "you guys, I'm gonna go for a walk in the park. I'll see ya later."

"Do you want some company?" asked Layla, who was starting to get restless anyway.

"No thanks, I just want some time to think," said Musa. Seeing the dubious look on her friend's face, she said, "I'll be fine Layla. Now that Rancor's gone, I doubt there's going to be any trouble waiting for me out there."

"Just be careful all the same," said Layla. Musa nodded and headed out the door.

After taking a moment to decide where she wanted to go, she walked down to the lake, sat at the edge of it, and gazed out over the sparkling surface of the water. She looked across the lake and saw the place where Riven had been with that other girl, which she now knew to be Darcy, the day all this had started. He had broken her heart, but since he'd made clear his love for her several times after that, she decided he was forgiven.

A shadow appeared over her and a voice interrupted her thoughts, "hey." Musa looked up and saw Riven standing over her.

"Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"Not much," he said, sitting next to her. "I just decided it was a good morning for a walk, and I saw you. Listen Musa…" he started, obviously very nervous. "About what happened, a couple days ago, when you saw me with…" but Musa cut him off.

"Riven, it's fine," she said. "I know you were just under a spell and I know you wouldn't leave me for someone else. It just took me a little while to realize that. But it helped Rancor out considerably, since I let my guard down."

"So, you forgive me?" asked Riven hopefully.

"Yeah, I do," said Musa.

"I'm also sorry I broke my promise," said Riven. "I promised I'd protect you, then you kept getting kidnapped and Rancor stole your powers. So if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just tell me."

"First of all, I still don't see what you could have done," she told him. "If Rancor was going to kidnap me, there would hardly have been anything you could've done to stop him. I told you that before all this started, remember?" He nodded.

"Yeah I remember, but I still feel I could've done something more than what I did," he replied.

"Second, you've already made it up to me. You saved my life so many times over this adventure, like when you got rid of my evil side, breaking the after spell Rancor put on the evilness spell, saving me from Rancor's attacks and then last night. It was because of you that I was able to fight that spell. You gave me the confidence and strength I needed to beat it. It was also good to finally hear you say all that stuff. I've been waiting and waiting for any sign that you loved me, but you didn't show it. I was almost ready to give up on you, but I'm glad I didn't."

"Sorry it took me so long," said Riven. "You know I'm not good with emotions."

Musa nodded and continued, "When Rancor put that spell on me, all I could think was I was never going to see you again. I'd almost given up hope but you saved me."

"I don't remember the last time I was that scared," he told her. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Hey, if you think you can get rid of me that easily, you've got another thought comin' pal," she said and they both laughed at this. "But seriously though, I'll always be here, and it'll always be us two together." Riven smiled, placed his arm around her and they sat there together for a little while.

"Well, I've gotta get back to Red Fountain," said Riven, both of them standing up. "I'll see you tonight."

"What's tonight?" she asked him.

"The girls didn't tell you?" he asked and she shook her head. "Brandon and Sky invited all you girls to go to dinner with us tonight and there's a surprise for you after that."

"Sounds like fun," said Musa. "I'll see you then."

She started to walk away but Riven grabbed her elbow and spun her around to face him. He took her into his arms, pulling her as closely as he could against him, leaned in and kissed her. When they broke apart, he said, "couldn't let you go without that. And there's one more thing." Musa listened eagerly, in her heart, already knowing what he was going to say. She raised her eyebrows, giving him what she hoped to be a 'what is it?' look. "Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" he asked.

If he had any doubt she would say no, it disappeared when he saw the expression of utter delight on her face. "Thought you'd never ask," she said, jumping into his arms. He spun her once, then they said goodbye. Each walked back to their schools, happily anticipating the fun of that night.

That night, the boys took the girls for an evening out to celebrate Musa getting her powers back. The boys picked the girls up on the levabikes, Guinevere and Nirvana flew behind them, and they went to dinner in Magix. They went to one of the best restaurants in the city, and ate, talked, laughed.

As they walked out of the restaurant, Flora said, "you guys sure know how to charm a few girls."

"The fun's not over yet, my darling," said Helia, putting his arm around her.

"It's not?" asked all the girls together.

"Come with us," said Sky, taking Bloom's hand and leading her down the street. The rest of the boys led their girlfriends in the same direction, Guinevere and Nirvana following curiously behind. They reached a carnival, with music and games and everything. The girls looked around with delight and all ran off in different directions. Layla and Musa dragged Jason and Riven onto the dance floor, though Riven had an apprehensive look on his face.

"Musa, I'm not sure this is a good idea," he said, remembering the last dance lesson she tried to give him. He'd stepped on her toes so much he was surprised she was still able to walk.

"Don't worry," she said. "Dancing really isn't that hard, I'll help you."

The others watched them for a minute before rushing off to their own things. Bloom and Stella ran off to some games, Sky and Brandon right behind them. Timmy and Tecna just walked around, talking without a care in the world. Helia and Flora got a couple mugs of hot chocolate, sat and watched the whole thing, talking and looking up at the moon.

Guinevere and Nirvana, however, were the two odd girls out.

"Should we go back to Alfea and leave the couples to do their own thing?" asked Nirvana.

"No," said Guinevere. "I don't know why, but I just have this feeling that we need to stay. Something's going to happen, something for the better, and we have to be here when it does."

Nirvana just nodded and walked off. She, as well as the rest of the girls, had learnt not to doubt Guinevere's instincts. She headed for a booth that was selling funnel cakes, but was stopped by a guy asking her to dance. She said yes to be polite but kept thinking of her boyfriend, whom she still had yet to find. With everything that had happened the past few days, she hadn't had time to even think of him, let alone start a search for him.

When the song ended, she thanked the man who danced with her and headed for another area of the carnival. As she turned around, she caught something moving in her peripheral vision, making her stop dead in her tracks. She spun in the direction she saw the person in and saw a man making his way down an alleyway. All she could see before he disappeared from sight was a flash of black hair and dark skin.

"Carlos," she whispered. She ran in the direction the man had went, but when she turned into the alleyway, he was gone. "Carlos!" she called out, but no one answered her. Desperately trying to fight the tears threatening to fall, she walked back to the carnival and got a mug of hot chocolate, sitting in a place where she could clearly watch the rest of the group, but was secluded so they wouldn't be able to easily spot her.

Guinevere just wandered about aimlessly, without anything to do or anyone to do it with. She was still trying to figure out why she kept getting this feeling in the bottom of her heart, telling her that something was about to happen. She was sure something had already happened to Nirvana. She had clearly seen her friend sneak into the little alcove with her hot chocolate, a sad and lonely expression on her face. She made a mental note to ask about it later, positive that now wasn't the right time. She was on her way to find Flora and ask her a question, when she ran into someone and fell to the ground hard.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No, I'm sorry," said a voice above her. She felt as though she'd been hit with Cupid's arrow. The boy above her had short, blonde hair and deep blue eyes like hers. It was the boy she'd seen in the Pool of Infinity, the boy who was to one day sit beside her on the throne of Rampara, her future husband. And to her delight, he seemed as love struck as she was. "Need a hand?" he asked, helping her up. "I'm Andrew."

"I'm Guinevere," she said.

"I was wondering if you'd like to dance?" he asked.

"I would," she replied. They danced for the rest of the night, never getting tired. Once, she caught Flora's gaze and both smiled at each other.

"Congratulations Guinevere," Flora said silently. "You've found someone to love."

The girls and the boys all had fun that night. After a little while, Sky suggested that they take the girls back to Alfea. "It is getting late," he said.

"Not before I get up onstage and sing something," said Musa.

"What are you going to sing?" asked Nirvana, who'd come out of her little niche to join the others.

"You'll see," replied Musa and she dashed off to talk to the DJ. She whispered something in his ear and then walked back out with a microphone in her hand. She waited for the music to start and then began to sing.

_What if I told you it was all meant to be?_

_Would you believe me? Would you agree?_

_It's almost that feeling we've met before_

_So tell me that you don't think I'm crazy_

_When I tell you love has come here and now_

_A moment like this_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

_Some people search forever for that one special kiss_

_Oh I can't believe it's happening to me_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

_Everything changes but beauty remains_

_Something so tender I can't explain_

_Well I may be dreaming but until I awake_

_Can't we make this dream last forever?_

_And I'll cherish all the love we share_

_A moment like this_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

_Some people search forever for that one special kiss_

_Oh I can't believe it's happening to me_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

_Could this be the greatest love of all?_

_I want to know that you will catch me when I fall_

_So let me tell you this_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

_Some people search forever for that one special kiss_

_Oh I can't believe it's happening to me_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

_Oh I can't believe it's happening to me_

_Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this_

Everyone applauded as Musa took a bow and walked offstage.

"Was that yet another song you sang to Riven?" asked Stella so only the girls could hear.

"Stella, come on!" said Musa, but she was blushing furiously.

"We'll take that for a yes," said Bloom.

When they got back to Alfea, Sky, Brandon, Helia, Timmy, Jason and Riven, all kissed their girlfriends and Andrew asked Guinevere to have dinner with him the following night. Nirvana said goodnight to the boys and walked up to her room, so the girls and their boyfriends could have a few minutes alone. Her thoughts drifted back to Carlos and she couldn't help but wonder when she would see him again, and if he was still as much in love with her as she was with him.

The girls all slept peacefully that night, each one dreaming of the romantic night they had spent with their boyfriends.

-----------

Ms. Faragonda looked out the window and saw the girls get back. She was happy that Flora, Tecna, Guinevere, Musa and Nirvana had all received their realm's powers, but was worried about the next girl who was in line for the danger. She was also worried because the witches had escaped before Nirvana's spell got them all the way back to Alfea. "Don't relax just yet girls," said the headmistress. "You're not out of danger yet."

**Author's Note:** That's the end of this story guys. I know I had Riven be kind of a sweetheart there, but he'll be back to his tough old self in no time. Now the next story will be about Layla, and you'll want to read that one, believe me. It's going to tie up a bunch of loose ends and answer tons of questions. It's going to bring together all the other stories. Stay tuned!


End file.
